tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75342157427670135762017-12-12T10:05:24.768-08:00Muhammad's Study Group of Rockford, IllinoisThe Official Website of the Rockford Study Group, under the leadership and guidance of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.comBlogger126125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-84811140933579525512025-10-04T11:53:00.000-07:002017-12-08T15:12:05.824-08:00The Rockford Study Group Presents:<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">REPLAY OF THE November 16, 2017</span></b><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Press Conference and Message to President Trump</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VBRPTaadQVU" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">*&nbsp; *&nbsp; *&nbsp; *</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YbgEzQjiqsc/WiscJeXdkwI/AAAAAAAAGEE/dnfowtFcjBQYkje9lXqxCbB08K72V1E4wCLcBGAs/s1600/Yahc%2Bflier.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="478" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YbgEzQjiqsc/WiscJeXdkwI/AAAAAAAAGEE/dnfowtFcjBQYkje9lXqxCbB08K72V1E4wCLcBGAs/s1600/Yahc%2Bflier.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">1005 S. Court Street, Rockford, IL 61102</span></b></div><br /><i><span style="font-family: &quot;verdana&quot;; font-size: x-large;"><b>Sundays: General lecture 10:00AM</b></span></i><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i>Mondays: FOI Class (Men only) 7:30 PM</i></span><br /><i><br /></i><span style="font-family: &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i>Wednesdays: Study Group 7:30PM</i></span><br /><i><br /></i><span style="font-family: &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i>Saturdays: MGT Class (Women only) 9:00AM</i></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">****</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">For more information: Call (815) 742-6758</span></b><b><i><u><sub><sup><strike><br /></strike></sup></sub></u></i></b><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>or</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">e-mail The Rockford Study Group: </span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">rockfordnoistudygroup@gmail.com</span></b>&nbsp;</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">﻿</div>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-3138369028632426722017-12-12T10:05:00.001-08:002017-12-12T10:05:24.781-08:00From The Final Call Newspaper<h2>Playing with numbers and racial profiling?</h2><small>By <a href="http://www.twitter.com/MrCraw4D">Bryan Crawford</a> -Contributing Writer- | Last updated: Dec 12, 2017 - 10:52:46 AM</small><br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="https://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </h3><a href="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" target="_blank"> What's your opinion on this article?</a><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>Gang database in Chicago gets low marks from researchers and activists</strong></em></span><br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="chicago-police_12-19-2017.jpg" height="320" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/chicago-police_12-19-2017.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /> Gun violence is the top crime problem associated with Chicago, particularly in neighborhoods and communities occupied primarily by Black and Latino people. The issue has long been on the radar of politicians at every level, and the Chicago Police Department has employed a number of strategies to get a better handle on the daily shootings that happen on the South and West Sides.<br /><br /><br />One of these is the Strategic Subjects List (SSL), also referred to as the Chicago Gang Database. The purpose of the SSL, according to police, is to identify those individuals who are most likely to either be a perpetrator or victim of gun violence.<br /><br />This is commonly referred to as predictive policing. However, a recent study of the SSL conducted by the University of Illinois-Chicago Policing in Chicago Research Group, found that the Chicago Police department is actually using the database as a profiling mechanism specifically targeting Blacks and Latinos.<br /><br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="chicago-police_12-19-2017b.jpg" height="224" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/chicago-police_12-19-2017b.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Chicago Police Officer Tony Washington watches surveillance videos at the 18th District Chicago Police Station March 19, 2010. Thousands of surveillance cameras keep Chicago under closer watch than any other U.S. city. Photo: AP/Wide World photos</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>“Predictive policing is kind of a mathematical, algorithm-based method of trying to essentially predict where crime will happen and who is most likely to engage in criminal activity,” Janae Bonsu, organizer with the Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100) and one of the principal researchers on this UIC study, told The Final Call. “The Chicago Police Department isn’t alone in using predictive policing, but the SSL is an example of predictive policing in practice by using data points such as being arrested for certain offenses, being in a particular age group, gang affiliation, or even being a victim of gun violence. However, there are many false positives in this technological, algorithm based policing method, and it just goes to show how unreliable predictive policing is.”<br /><br /><br />According to the research conducted by UIC, there are more than 400,000 people in the gang database of that 76 percent are male, 45 percent are under 30 years of age, 52 percent are Black and 25 percent Latino. The Chicago Police Department assigns a score of 1 to 500 to each person in the database, based on arrest and victimization records, as well as any known associations with anyone suspected of having a gang affiliation. In addition, any person having been arrested for narcotics possession or a violent offense—such as unlawful use of a weapon or domestic violence—are automatically added to the list.<br /><br />It also appears that people who have had interactions with police based on the neighborhood they live in have also been added to the database.<br /><br />Currently, there are approximately 13,500 people in the gang database who have never been arrested or charged for any of the activities that police consider to be gang related.<br /><br />However, after parsing the numbers and analyzing the data, Black people, especially males, represent the largest group among any identified in the database.<br /><br />“The list is overwhelmingly male, overwhelmingly Black and Brown, but overwhelmingly Black, for real,” added Ms. Bonsu who explained the challenges a Black person may face by being identified on the SSL. “If they’re on the SSL and they’re arrested, no matter what the offense, they’re not eligible for an I-bond, which is being released on their own recognizance. Sentencing enhancements for any type of crime also goes into effect for someone on the SSL. People can be denied employment, be barred from getting certain professional licenses requiring a background check. There are serious consequences for any Black person labeled as a gang member by being on this list.”<br /><br />Not only does this list add fuel to the fire of racial profiling by police and mass incarceration of Black people, but it also opens the door to possible deportation for many Latino men and women in Chicago who also find themselves in the database, in what is supposed to be a sanctuary city. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 300px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="chicago-police-badge_12-19-2017.jpg" height="225" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/chicago-police-badge_12-19-2017.jpg" width="300" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />“The gang database is a way in which police profile and target Black youth, but it also becomes a pipeline for deportation of undocumented immigrants,” UIC professor Andy Clarno, who led the direction of the Policing in Chicago Research group on this study, told The Final Call. “The findings we released were based on a statistical analysis of data released in May by the Chicago Police Department of the Strategic Subjects List. We’ve been trying to learn as much as we can about the database, the way it’s built, the way it gets used, and what happens to the data once it’s in there. But what we do know for sure is that you don’t have to be arrested to end up in the gang database.”<br /><br />“When the Chicago Police Department conducts what they call investigatory stops, which is essentially stop and frisk, every time they do that, they’re supposed to write up an investigatory stop report,” Prof. Clarno explained. “Someone can be identified in the report as gang affiliated or a gang member, and they can end up in the database.”<br /><br />Added Ms. Bonsu, “Police act as an entry point, both to incarceration but also deportation of immigrants, both Black and non-Black.”<br /><br />Wilmer Catalan-Ramirez, a member of Organized Communities Against Deportation, worked as a mechanic and lived in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the city’s South Side. With no gang affiliations and no arrests, he was added to the Chicago gang database without his knowledge sometime in 2014 or 2015. Because of his undocumented status, Mr. Ramirez now faces deportation as a result of this interaction. People living in neighborhoods deemed to be high-crime and known for gang activity, can easily be placed on this list even with no known affiliation to gangs, drugs or violence. In March, Mr. Ramirez’ home was raided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials as part of President Donald Trump’s promise to crackdown on undocumented immigrants living in sanctuary cities.<br /><br />“We are going to get the bad ones out,” Mr. Trump said during a rally earlier this year. “The criminals and the drug leaders and gangs and gang leaders.”<br /><br />In sanctuary cities like Chicago, police aren’t required to cooperate with federal agencies like ICE. However, they are permitted to share information—such as the SSL—between agencies at all levels. This is made easier through the Crime Prevention and Information Center, which is housed at the Chicago Police headquarters. Known as a “fusion center,” it is one of 75 that exist across the United States. This means that federal agencies such as ICE, have unimpeded access to databases such as the SSL that they can utilize in their own investigations.<br /><br />“On 35th and Michigan (CPD headquarters), there’s someone from Homeland Security in the Fusion Center, someone from the FBI, Illinois State Police, ICE, they all have staff working there. So, data sharing is another huge issue with this kind of policing,” explained Ms. Bonsu.<br /><br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="chicago-police_12-19-2017c.jpg" height="200" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/chicago-police_12-19-2017c.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Chicago police officers on the street. Photo: MGN Online</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>In the case of Wilmer Catalan-Ramirez, the Chicago Police Department admitted fault in erroneously putting him in the gang database. However, he is still being detained by ICE and facing deportation.<br /><br /><br />“There’s fear, not just about being put on the gang list, but really, with all interactions with police officers,” Tania Unzueta, policy director for Mijente, a grassroots organizing movement centered on issues affecting Latinos in Chicago. “Latinos don’t have the same experience as Black folks in Chicago, and I think sometimes the non-Black Latinos have this hope that they’ll be treated like White people and be treated fairly by the system. Latinos live in a contradiction where we expect to be treated right, but our experience is oftentimes that we’re not. I can definitely say that the number of 911 calls has gone down under the Trump administration. That’s definitely a sign that people are more leery of police and law enforcement.”<br /><br />Mr. Ramirez, with the help of OCAD, was able to get the police to admit that he should never have been in the database. It is unclear if there is a formal process to get out of the database or if there is a transparent appeals process.<br /><br /><div align="center"><b>No White gangs or gangsters in Chicago?</b></div>“The data shows that the Chicago Gang Database is a target list of Black and Brown people who will be the victims of immigration raids, of incarceration and criminalization, and further policing,” argued Ms. Bonsu.<br /><br />The findings also bear witness to words spoken by Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan, warning that President Trump and the U.S. government, have planned a war against Black and Brown people and are currently in the process of executing it.<br /><br />Interestingly enough, the Chicago Gang Database has identified no White person as being affiliated with gangs or drugs, nor does it identify one White street gang organization with members who would be potentially involved in illegal activities.<br /><br />“White people put this database together. They’re not going to tell on their loved ones,” Wallace “Gator” Bradley, former gang member and who now serves as an urban translator and political consultant and president of the United In Peace anti-violence organization. “This is the same issue with the FBI targeting what they call ‘Black Identity Extremists.’ You mean to tell me there aren’t any White identity extremists? Steve Bannon isn’t one? You’re saying there’s no White gangs? Does the KKK not exist? The people who put the database together definitely aren’t going to tell on themselves. I’m probably in the database and I’m 65 years old.”<br /><br />In a department that has continued to stress more transparency and accountability, it would be hard to reconcile the findings of this particular study. However, many activists and those involved in this study agree that simply creating a list that ultimately profiles people and adding more police on the streets is an ineffective deterrent to ending gang, gun and drug violence. They would like to see it done away with because of how harmful it is to individual lives and communities.<br /><br />“Under the Trump administration, anyone suspected of anything wrong, is a target. And it’s really astonishing that people don’t find out they’re even on this list until it’s too late,” said Ms. Unzueta, who also explained that any Latino who finds themselves on this list are no longer protected under Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance which offers a sort of safety net from ICE, meaning local police can’t turn someone over to immigration authorities without due process. “We’ve had some attorneys explain how this list violates people’s constitutional rights, we’re also meeting with city councilmen to talk through the different policy options that exist that get us closer to getting rid of the database. But one thing we do know is that people want safety in their community, but a bigger gang database and more police won’t make anyone safe.”<br /><br />“The police know who’s doing wrong. They know who the players are,” said Mr. Bradley. “The police also know there’s a structure out here where people who used to be gang members are doing work in the community and trying to steer kids right because they’re now parents. But they don’t want to showcase that. We’ve got to deal with the truth as it is. They’ve always been racially profiling us. The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad told us that a long time ago. Parents need to tell their children that all Black folks are targeted. They need to tell their loved ones if they’re out there and around [criminal activity] they’re watching you and they know who you are. We can’t complain about this database they’ve got on us. They’ve always had it.”<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-88869780627287967882017-12-05T12:02:00.002-08:002017-12-05T12:13:49.833-08:00FROM THE FINAL CALL NEWSPAPER<h2 style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 35px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Can You Survive? - Judgement, Disasters and America's Future</h2><small style="color: #9f9e9e; display: block; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9px; padding-bottom: 10px; text-transform: uppercase;">BY&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/sischarlene" style="color: #0d719b; font-family: Georgia; text-decoration-line: none;">CHARLENE MUHAMMAD</a>&nbsp;-NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT- | LAST UPDATED: DEC 5, 2017 - 2:08:02 PM</small><br /><h3 style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734" style="color: #0d719b; font-family: Georgia; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="https://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0px; float: right; margin: 5px 0px 5px 10px;" width="125" /></a></h3><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><a href="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" style="color: #0d719b; font-family: Georgia; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">What's your opinion on this article?</a></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"></div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="disasters-america_12-12-2017.jpg" height="247" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/disasters-america_12-12-2017.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 5px 0px 5px 10px;" width="525" /><br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;" /><em style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">(Editor’s note: This week The Final Call Newspaper devotes substantive space and places a major focus on the Divine Chastisement on America, disasters that are plaguing the country amid warnings contained in the Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the words and witness-bearing of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. We pray that the spiritual truths, fact-based reporting, disaster preparation and survival tips will help us survive in this dark hour.)</em><br /><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">A hard truth is sweeping America: God’s “Four Great Judgments” of rain, hail, snow and earthquake are being visited on this country.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">“Let me tell you something: If you don’t give justice to us, you will lose everything you’ve got, including your life, because God, now, said He is ready to fight you for our deliverance. And he told me to tell you: You don’t have no fight against the forces of nature,” Min. Farrakhan cautioned President Trump during a mid- November press conference at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. The Minister has consistently warned disasters striking America are not happenstance, but the divine Supreme Being’s direct intervention and chastisement.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">“The God is after America for her evils done to His people: You have a chance to relieve yourself of some of the heaviness of the judgment that’s against you by letting my people go,” said the Minister in an address earlier this year from Mosque Maryam in Chicago. He also said natural disasters and extreme weather would continue to plague America as punishment for her domestic evils.</div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="farrakhan_wearther_12-12-2017.jpg" height="197" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/farrakhan_wearther_12-12-2017.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 5px 0px 5px 10px;" width="525" /><br /><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /><br /><br /><br />The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan (R) NOAA satellite image of the Atlantic shows 3 major hurricanes on Sept 17. <br /><br />The Minister’s warning fits a prophetic pattern and assertions from the Nation of Islam since the 1930s. The basic tenet of the teaching is that God Himself has visited North America, chosen Black people to usher in a new society and is judging America today for her evil done to Blacks and the indigenous people of this nation. Nation of Islam patriarch Elijah Muhammad unapologetically taught that prophecy was being fulfilled in this modern time and that the man who taught him, Master Fard Muhammad, was the long awaited Messiah of the Christians and Madhi, or self-guided one, expected by Muslims.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span><br /><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">In his speeches and writings, he warned America was doomed and the divine Supreme Being would use the forces of nature to bring the country to its knees. Min. Farrakhan has repeated Elijah Muhammad’s teachings and divine warnings.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">Calamities thrashing America in 2017 alone signal God is angry with America, said Christian religious leaders, Muslim student ministers and others.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">For the last 40 years, Min. Farrakhan has taught, guided, warned, and repeated assertions that America is under judgment, stated Student Minister Ishmael Muhammad, Min. Farrakhan’s national assistant, in a lecture entitled, “Who is Farrakhan.”</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">“This man is not before us of himself. He’s not self-made. He has been fashioned and made and anointed by the God of this time,” Min. Ishmael Muhammad said.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">“Watch how the God will give a punctuation to what I said to you from him (Elijah Muhammad) today. So, if you keep going the way you’re going, it’s over,” stated Min. Farrakhan in Washington, D.C. That same day, a storm system pounded the West Coast with gusty winds up to 70 m.p.h., carrying more than three inches of rain and heavy snow that was set to disrupt the Midwest and East Coast, reported ABC News. Ten western states were on storm alert for damaging winds, heavy snow, and flooding rains.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">In 2017, several back-to-back natural disasters of “biblical proportions” have hit America. Early costs for damages were estimated at $125 billion.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">Hurricane Irma, with 185 m.p.h. winds, hit Florida and other southern states in September. She left more than seven million people without electricity, starting in the Caribbean.</div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hurricane-irma_damage_florida_12-12-2017.jpg" height="253" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hurricane-irma_damage_florida_12-12-2017.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 5px 0px 5px 10px;" width="525" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Damage and debris left from Hurricane Irma in St. Johns County, Florida, Sept. 17. Photo: MGN Online </span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Just before that, Hurricane Harvey, which moved far slower, did as much damage when it pummeled the entire state of Texas, hitting the city of Houston hardest.<br />Reports put Harvey’s death toll at 82. Unprecedented torrential rains also caused massive flooding and damage.<br />Northern and Southern California are still cleaning after nearly two dozen wildfires dubbed the “October Wildfire Siege” that started on Oct. 8 and scorched football field-sized swaths of land.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">The fires, such as the Atlas Fire in Napa and Sonoma Counties in “Wine Country,” claimed thousands of acres of land.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">“The forces of nature are great weapons as we see them in play upon America. Storms after storms of snow and ice are rolling in from the North and are pushing great drifts that are just covering up everything. What can you do with a God like that,” wrote the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in his prophetic 1973 book, “The Fall of America.”</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">Min. Farrakhan reiterated such warnings during his message at the Family Summit Conference, “Strong Families: The Foundation of a Great Nation,” in Atlanta in August.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">“Mr. Trump, no bombs from a foreign government are going to fall here, according to what the Messenger (Elijah Muhammad) taught me. But this area is preserved for God,” Min. Farrakhan stated.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><strong>Confusion in government, politics</strong></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">Part of God’s judgment is confusion inside governments, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches. Today near implosion threatens the Republican Party, with President Trump at war every day with members of his own party, Democrats, right wing conservatives, and some known as the Alt-Right.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">The battles over repealing President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act and providing health care for all, tax reform, immigration, and military operations are troubling the country. As Elijah Muhammad wrote in “The Fall of America,” “The heads of the governments of the Christian world are confused, and they do not know that they are confused. Why? Because their greatest desire was to confuse us. Now Allah (God) has taken the confusion out of us and put it into them. Eat, America. Help yourself to the dessert that you have prepared for us. You eat it. All praises are due to Allah (God) Who came in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad.”</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><strong>Witness bearers</strong></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">“What I am seeing is that it is a blessing in that more and more people, I’m talking about online, and more and more people that I encounter, when the Minister would say ‘watch the weather,’ that now, they’re coming back and saying the Minister is right. The Minister has been on it. Every time he’s predicted these things, it has happened,” said Jesse Muhammad of the Farrakhan Twitter Army. He is Min. Farrakhan’s social media director and a student in the Nation of Islam ministry.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">“Now, Allah is touching the hearts of the people to connect what they’re seeing on the Weather Channel and other news stations and on social media, and connecting it back to God’s warning,” Jesse Muhammad said.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"></div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; width: 260px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="snow_12-12-2017.jpg" height="299" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/snow_12-12-2017.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 5px 0px 5px 10px;" width="260" /><br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-size: xx-small;">People struggle against blizzard conditions. Photo: MGN Online</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Rev. Willie Wilson of Union Temple Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., noted calamities are found from the Book of Genesis, through Exodus and Revelation in the Bible. Genesis has 49 chapters, so why is that so early God destroyed the earth? he asked.<span style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span><br /><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"></div>It’s because America’s rulers have not been a reflection of God, he told The Final Call.<br /><br /><div>“I think that we have—not withstanding the many years that Brother Minister as well as the Teachings of Honorable Elijah Muhammad has put forth what would occur and what would happen—many who will not listen,” Rev. Wilson said.<br /><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div>“It is coming to pass. You see it all over, the floods, the hurricanes, the rain, all the devastation, the fires burning in California, everywhere. It’s clear indication that prophetic words have been spoken and they are now manifesting as reality,” said the longtime friend of Min. Farrakhan.<br /><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><br />“As I look at the way it continued to perform from the very founding of this nation, it has sought to exploit and dominate and control the masses of the people of this earth,” Rev. Wilson added.<br /><br />President Trump and Congress have ignored environmentalists’ pleas to pay attention to current calamities and climate change, he noted. <br /><br />“They refuse to listen, because the greed for money and wealth and power supersedes any reality in terms of what’s happening all around.”<br /><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">Abdul Arif Muhammad, Nation of Islam general counsel, said it’s time to keep up prayer, reflect and to try to walk in righteousness that God may provide mercy.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">Avoid the enemy’s attempt to deceive the world about the origins of unprecedented destructive and deadly weather, he warned. “If you are taught and deceived into thinking it’s just happenstance, it’s Mother Nature, it’s climate change, and people are messing with the weather, though all of that could be some aspect of it, but that’s not, as we are taught, the real reason or motivation behind what’s taking place, because Allah (God) is controller of the forces of nature itself.”</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">As much as Blacks want to think about God’s judgment in the abstract, they actually have control, because God gives them the power to be in control and to follow Him, stated Rev. Mark Thompson of Washington, D.C.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">“If we would but humble ourselves to God, and it really ain’t rocket science! We are burning ourselves up,” said Rev. Thompson, through a mild chuckle.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">The Sirius XM Satellite radio host of “Make it Plain” painted a vivid picture of Blacks, whom he likened to crabs in a pot unaware of the danger because of water heating up but not yet boiling.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">“The Bible shows over and over again, especially in the Old Testament, how the Israelites would love God. God would love them. Then, the Israelites would do something crazy, and disrespect God, and God would punish them. And then they’d make up again. So I think some folks think, ‘We’re just going to keep going with that. We mess up. God gets mad at us, and then we’re just going to make up.’ Well guess what, when this pot really starts boiling, ain’t gone be nobody left for God to make up with. It’s gone be a wrap,” he said.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">Min. Farrakhan has been vindicated of any charges that he is crazy, or doesn’t know what he’s talking about because of his constant warnings, Rev. Thompson said.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">When White folks hear Min. Farrakhan on his radio show and say, “Mark, we’ve never thought about him that way before. We’ve never heard him that way. We can’t be so angry anymore. That’s the day I think we need to recognize that everything around us is changing and we had better listen to him, listen to ourselves, listen to God, and get right with God,” Rev. Thompson said.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">Pastor Thembekila Smart of Christ Liberation Ministries in Los Angeles said scriptures and Min. Farrakhan’s prophetic warnings are clearly playing out.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">“I think we’re in that time,” she said. “The time promises that everything will shut down, and then there will be a time of peace.”</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">From the Bible, to the Qur’an, to the Torah, all speak of a prophetic time, which is taking place right now, stated Pastor Smart. “Time has run out,” she said. “It’s so deep right now … time is up!”</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">Sacrifices have to be made for survival, to hold the water, the destruction back, and Blacks are not in sacrifice mode right now, she argued.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">“This is something that you hear Min. Farrakhan talking about all the time. You hear Harriett Tubman talking about it, Frederick Douglas, Marcus Garvey. There’s going to have to be some type of gnashing of self,” she stated.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">Instead, Pastor Smart continued, everyone wants their desires immediately, but as Min. Farrakhan has been pushing for years: “Separate! Separate! Separate! We’ll never get that message until the weather gets bad enough and there’s danger to humanity.”</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><em>(Darrielle Muhammad contributed to this report.)</em></div></div>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-35781451243723780002017-12-01T13:46:00.002-08:002017-12-01T13:46:53.637-08:00From The Final Call Newspaper<h2>Slave markets in Libya - Who is to blame?</h2><small>By Richard B. Muhammad and Raychelle Muhammad, Final Call Staffers | Last updated: Nov 29, 2017 - 11:59:59 AM</small><br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="https://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </h3><a href="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" target="_blank"> What's your opinion on this article?</a><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>Libya’s suffering and slavery didn’t just happen</strong></em></span> <br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="protest_libya-embassy-france_11-28-2017.jpg" height="311" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/protest_libya-embassy-france_11-28-2017.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Demonstrators hold signs during a demonstration against slavery in Libya on November 24, 2017,outside the Libyan embassy in the French capital Paris.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /> When <i>CNN</i> released video footage of a live slave auction in Libya, captured by journalist Nima Elbagir, shockwaves were sent around the world.<br /><br /><br />Starting the bidding at $400 each, buyers purchased 12 African migrants at an undisclosed location outside the capital city of Tripoli in a matter of minutes.<br />How is it possible for open slave market to exist in the year 2017?<br /><br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="protest_libya-embassy-france_11-28-2017b.jpg" height="250" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/protest_libya-embassy-france_11-28-2017b.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">At the end of the day, several hundred people gathered in front of the Libyan Embassy in Paris to demand the end of slavery practices in the country updated following a report by CNN. Paris, France, November 24.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>The roots of the slavery, suffering and misery in Libya goes back to the purposeful, targeted destruction of the government of Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi.<br /><br /><br />While President Barack Obama and his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, declared their assault on the North Africa leader was about protecting the Libyan people and standing for what is right, Libya has gone all-wrong with no solution in sight.<br /><br />Raymond A. Winbush, a professor and director of the Institute for Urban Research at Morgan State University, noted that by President Barack Obama’s own admission, the worst mistake of his presidency was how he handled Libya.<br /><br />With three different feuding governments, Libya has never been more unstable. This instability left the door wide open for today’s widespread corruption, human rights abuses, and the slave trade, said Dr. Winbush.<br /><br />Dr. Winbush told <i>The Final Call</i> that Libya once boasted the highest standard of living in Africa as Col. Gadhafi redistributed oil revenues back to his people. Libya is now in utter chaos. Racism and slavery are running rampant and these are crimes Col. Gadhafi would have never permitted, he said.<br />Dr. Winbush also noted that the end of Col. Gadhafi’s reign was accompanied by the birth of the international terrorist organization ISIS.<br /><br />Gerald Perreira, the chairperson of the Black Consciousness Movement Guyana and Organization for the Victory of the People, drew attention to CNN and its role in offering an “expose:” “The world we find ourselves in is complex and full of contradictions. It is easy to fall for rudimentary textbook propaganda based on simplistic dichotomies, such as ‘the good guys versus the bad guys.’ If we are not aware of the complexities and nuances facing us, we can fall for this type of propaganda, whose sole aim is to keep us apart and destroy any type of unity that could strengthen our ability to defeat the enemy,” he wrote in a piece titled <i>“Deceptive Intelligence: CNN breaks story on Slave Trade in Libya; French Government Voices Concern for African Migrants.”</i><br /><i><br /></i>“When examining and assessing the latest information fed us by one of imperialism’s mouthpieces, CNN, there are important things for us, as revolutionary Pan-Africanists, to keep in mind. The first thing to note is the clear hypocrisy and insincerity which is nowhere more stark than CNN’s recent expose of ‘Libyan crimes against humanity’ and French President, Emmanuel Macron’s call for a special meeting of the UN Security Council to demand immediate action against this heinous ‘Libyan’ crime,” he wrote.<br /><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="295" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FWHQZjqdeBw?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0" width="525"></iframe><br />Mr. Perreira warned against giving too much credence to CNN and Western media without a critical analysis of their roles and their corporate, imperialist agendas. Lies “can come in the guise of the imperialists and White Supremacists themselves, or their mouthpieces such as CNN, BBC, Fox News or any of the mainstream corporate media outlets. We should never forget their role as cheerleaders and purveyors of the fake news that laid the groundwork for the invasion and destruction of the Libyan Jamahiriya. Therefore, let us ask ourselves the burning question, why are they providing us with this information, and why now? Why are the imperialists suddenly feigning concern for the plight of Africans?” he asks.<br /><br />“Muammar Qaddafi and the Revolutionary Committees Movement of the Al Fateh Revolution had a monumental task on their hands: to conscientize and reposition the Libyan people for a significant role in the revolutionary Pan-African project for a United States of Africa. This is a battle for all African revolutionaries. In Sub-Saharan African countries, where almost the entire population comprises Black Africans, we face the same battle. Here in the Caribbean, it is no different. So, when Qaddafi urged his people to look towards a United States of Africa and a revolutionary Pan-African perspective, he had to face Libyans who rejected this program in favor of Libya and the entire North African region joining the Barcelona Project, a Mediterranean-European alliance, whose aim is to take North Africa out of Africa,” Mr. Perreira continued.<br /><br />“Prejudice against dark-skinned Africans exists all over planet earth. Even in countries where the population is almost 100 percent Black African, we have to contend with ‘shadism,’ a hangover from colonialism and plantation culture, where Africans with lighter skin shades are held in higher esteem than Africans with darker skin shades. However, to say that ‘Arab Libyans’ are selling ‘Africans’ is overly simplistic and deliberately misleading. There is a hidden agenda here—beware. The objective is to ignite hostilities between so-called Arab-Africans and so-called Sub-Saharan-Africans. There is a debate amongst Africans about who is an African. On the one hand, there are those who limit the definition of African to Black Africans in the Sub-Saharan region of the continent. On the other hand, there are those of us who believe that Africa is one, and we will resist any attempt by the imperialists to redefine and further balkanize Africa,” he continued. “Rather than becoming part of the European Community, North Africans promoting the Barcelona Project would be better off seeking out their African roots. This is what Muammar Qaddafi told all Libyans.” <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="col-muammar-gadhafi_11-28-2017.jpg" height="266" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/col-muammar-gadhafi_11-28-2017.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Col. Muammar Gadhafi</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The writer lived in Libya and is a Gadhafi loyalist. Mr. Perreira pointed out how the forces of U.S.-European Union imperialism had fought to take down Col. Gadhafi and his government since its establishment in 1969. In 2011, Col Gadhafi was on the brink of unifying the African continent and was poised to receive the UN Human Rights Award, he wrote in an article published on <i>Modern Ghana</i> online.<br /><br />But the Obama administration, on the advice and counsel of Secretary Clinton and others, along with British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Saudi Arabia King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud, and Qatar Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani launched an all-out assault against Col. Gadhafi which ended in his execution on Oct. 20, 2011.<br /><br /><div align="center"><b>President Obama’s ‘regret’</b></div>In an interview with <i>The Atlantic</i> published in April 2016, President Obama discussed the U.S. “intervention” in Libya which he said was carefully planned to stop Col. Gadhafi from invading Benghazi, where there was an uprising. President Obama, along with Vice President Joe Biden and then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, initially wanted no part in the conflict, according to the article. It was Secretary Clinton, UN Ambassador Susan Rice, and others who won Mr. Obama over. But he expressed remorse for how Libya was handled and turned out—but not that Col. Gadhafi was killed. <br /><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hillary-clinton_11-28-2017.jpg" height="296" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hillary-clinton_11-28-2017.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The effort, which cost the U.S. $1 billion, was an epic failure. Publicly, Mr. Obama said, “Libya is a mess.” Privately, the article said, he called Libya a “sh*t show.”<br /><br />“When I go back and I ask myself what went wrong, there’s room for criticism, because I had more faith in the Europeans, given Libya’s proximity, being invested in the follow-up,” President Obama said to The Atlantic. “If we’re going to do something, obviously we’ve got to be up front, and nobody else is sharing in the spotlight.”<br /><br />The former president’s admission of error does nothing to solve the problem. Complicating matters, Italy’s government has made deals with Libya’s coast guard, tribes, and warlords to prevent refugees from entering Libya and continuing their journeys into Europe.<br /><br />And while Western nations were able to collude on how to deal with Libya and Col. Gadhafi, they have not come together to deal with the horrors of Libya today. Did the Western nations fear what was happening in Libya and an awakening of a broader African identity and possible political and economic reality?<br /><br />Mr. Perreira offers a compelling answer: “The North Atlantic Tribes Organization (NATO) deeply fear this type of awakening and the unity of purpose and action it could lead to in this oil rich and wealthiest region of the world. Minister Farrakhan said many years ago, reflecting on periods of unity in our history, ‘we did it before and we can do it again.’ Muammar Qaddafi’s persistent struggle to forge a United States of Africa was starting to pay off. He was on the verge of creating an African currency that would have shifted the global economic imbalance, preparing the way for Africa to take its rightful place in the world. … Fear of this emerging African unity, especially between countries in the north and south of the continent, prompted France to orchestrate (Cote D’Ivoire leader Laurent Gbagbo’s)&nbsp; removal from power at the same time as the NATO led invasion of Libya. Genuine African unity, resulting in anything more than talk, will always be opposed, no matter what the cost, by the forces of White Supremacy.”<br /><br /><div align="center"><b>Chaos breeds refugee crisis</b></div>Since 2014, over 600,000 people have migrated to Italy including an all-time high of 180,000 refugees in 2016 alone. Although this action has left migrants vulnerable to being sold into slavery, Italy’s interior minister Marco Minniti stands behind their policy.<br /><br />The International Organization for Migration, a United Nations agency, has been reporting the rape, violence, extortion, and enslavement of refugees for months.<br /><br />The IOM exposed the problem and yet no one was apparently listening. Migrants were being swindled by human traffickers they had paid to transport them off the African continent. Survivors said instead they were enslaved, starved, and abused by their captors.<br /><br />“The latest reports of ‘slave markets’ for migrants can be added to a long list of outrages [in Libya],” said Mohammed Abdiker, IOM’s head of operation and emergencies. “The situation is dire. The more IOM engages inside Libya, the more we learn that it is a vale of tears for all too many migrants.”<br /><br /><i>All Africa</i> reported that many families of migrants captured by militia and smugglers have been extorted. If they can’t pay the ransoms, then the prisoners are sold. Often the new owners will try to extort the families as well. If at some point the captors can neither collect on nor sell a prisoner, or if the prisoner falls ill, the prisoner is killed.<br /><br />The CNN footage has garnered much attention and condemnation from the UN, African leadership, and people around the globe. Shortly after the story aired, a massive, and at times violent protest in Paris outside the Libyan embassy ensued. Similar demonstrations were held at Libyan embassies in several African capitol cities including Bamako, Mali and Conakry, Guinea.<br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 300px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="un-sec-gen_guterres_11-28-2017.jpg" height="200" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/un-sec-gen_guterres_11-28-2017.jpg" width="300" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate investigation into the matter and prosecution of all guilty parties.<br /><br /><br />France called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the problem. President Emmanuel Macron condemned human trafficking as a “crime against humanity” via Twitter on Nov. 22. He has since met with head of the African Union, Alpha Conde.<br /><br />But are France’s hands clean? “The destruction of this most prosperous and just African country was led by France, who now dares to call for a special meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the crimes committed against African migrants ‘by Libyans.’ This is devil-speak,” said writer Perreira. <br /><br />“The same devil who, in the words of the Honorable Minister Farrakhan, ‘unleashed the demons’ that are now committing these and other heinous crimes, is trying to sow more discord by talking about ‘Libyan crimes.’ Where was CNN and the French government when these same gangs of demons were committing the atrocities described above?”<br /><br />Libyans have vowed to cooperate with the UN probe while also conducting investigations of their own. But West African political leaders have heavily criticized the Libyan slave trade and are taking action on behalf of exploited migrants from the region. Both President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou and the foreign minister of Burkina Faso, Alpha Berry, summoned the Libyan ambassador to meet to address the issue.<br /><br />President Issoufou has demanded that the International Court of Justice investigate Libya. The matter of the slave trade in Libya has been added to the agenda of the next African Union meeting in Ivory Coast on Nov. 29 and Nov. 30.<br /><br /><div align="center"><b>Looking to the future</b></div>Where do we go from here? The answer to that question is multi-layered with many moving parts. Minister Abdul Akbar Muhammad, the international representative of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam told <i>The Final Call</i> that those who have bought and sold slaves must be held accountable.<br /><br />All authorities, who include the AU, the UN, the U.S., international human rights organizations, and all three divisions of the Libyan government, must step in to chastise and isolate the offenders, he said.<br /><br />Mr. Muhammad also observed that the fractured Libyan government model is nothing shy of a “basket case.” And with the government being a product of a military coup, Libya should be kicked out of the UN as well as the AU, he argued.<br /><br />The United States must now be involved in the solution as both the creator of the problem as well as the home of the media outlet that filmed and aired the footage of the inhumane practice, Min. Akbar Muhammad said. CNN’s reporting has culpability in the world’s perception of this crisis and their investigative team is a witness against the perpetrators, he continued.<br /><br />Mr. Muhammad also said Blacks in the U.S. and other members of the African Diaspora must become voices for the victims by petitioning their governments and human rights organizations to act swiftly against slave trafficking.<br /><br />Perhaps the most important action that the 54 members of the African Union must take, Mr. Muhammad said, is to immediately begin to invest in building their economies, creating business and employment opportunities, and improving the quality of and access to education so that young people will no longer have to risk their lives migrating to Europe.<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-58050502647979106152017-11-22T20:46:00.001-08:002017-11-22T20:46:07.400-08:00From The Final Call Newspaper<h2 style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 35px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Min. Farrakhan warns President Trump and U.S. government</h2><small style="color: #9f9e9e; display: block; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9px; padding-bottom: 10px; text-transform: uppercase;">BY ASKIA MUHAMMAD AND RICHARD B. MUHAMMAD, FINAL CALL STAFFERS | LAST UPDATED: NOV 21, 2017 - 2:27:06 PM</small><br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hmlf_news-conference_11-28-2017.jpg" height="159" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hmlf_news-conference_11-28-2017.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 5px 0px 5px 10px;" width="525" /><br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-size: xx-small;">Press and audience attend The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan's Nov. 15 press conference at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. Photos: Final X</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />WASHINGTON—In the ballroom of the historic Watergate Hotel, the building where a Black security guard named Frank Wills set off a chain of events which toppled Richard M. Nixon, the 37th president of the United States from office 45 years ago, Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan delivered a warning to the sitting, 45th president, Donald J. Trump, to lead this country to “repent for all of the evils that America has done” to Black people, and to all “the peoples of the world.”<br /><br />“Mr. President, you won’t make America great again, not in our time,” the Muslim leader said. “She became great killing Native Americans. She became great enslaving us, bringing us from Africa into America to work the cotton fields. You’re not going to get that opportunity back anymore.”<br /><br />The Minister laid out how Mr. Trump is the last in a line of six presidents who have plotted the destruction of Black people. But, the Minister said, God has come to judge and destroy America for her past evils and current genocidal plots against Blacks. Congressional leaders and civil rights activists forced America to pass laws to improve the lives of Blacks, but those laws were undermined, eviscerated and made ineffective, he noted.<br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="usa_presidents_11-28-2017.jpg" height="523" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/usa_presidents_11-28-2017.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 5px 0px 5px 10px;" width="525" /><br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;" />The political deception and double-dealing goes back to a political compromise in 1877 that put Republican Rutherford B. Hayes in the White House, but removed federal troops from the South and left Blacks at the mercy of hardhearted Whites.<br /><img src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/pres-trump_11-28-2017.jpg" /><br />President Donald Trump.<br /><br />You love this nation; you suffered every indignity to make America better,” Min. Farrakhan said. But freedom, justice and equality were never achieved. The time for appealing to America is over, he said. America owes Blacks trillions of dollars and a separate state or territory, said the Minister. “So just like you pushed the Palestinians out to give the Jews a homeland—and we are the real ones: Push some of your own people out. And we’ll take eight states.”<br /><div><br />“Let me tell you something: If you don’t give justice to us, you will lose everything you’ve got, including your life, because God, now, said He is ready to fight you for our deliverance. And he told me to tell you: You don’t have no fight against the forces of nature,” Min. Farrakhan cautioned President Trump. The Minister has consistently warned disasters striking America are not happenstance, but the divine Supreme Being’s direct intervention and chastisement.<br /><br />“So now, the ball is in the court of Donald J. Trump. Mr. Trump, you met with your Joint Chiefs of Staff in August, and in early September. You had your generals at Camp David. They weren’t talking about taxes—you don’t use generals to talk about taxes. You were planning a war, sir.”<br /><br />The root of the revelation was a vision-like experience in 1985 when the Minister was taken to the Mother Wheel, a man-made plane that is a half-mile by a half-mile and fulfills the prophecy of Ezekiel’s Wheel in the bible and is commonly referred to as a UFO. In the experience, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad spoke to Min. Farrakhan through a speaker system. Minister heard a cryptic message from his teacher, who said: The president and his Joint Chiefs of Staff have met to plan a war.<br /><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"></div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hem_quote_11-28-2017.jpg" height="422" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hem_quote_11-28-2017.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 5px 0px 5px 10px;" width="355" /><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">It later became clear to the Minister that the war was on two fronts, a war against Islamic countries abroad and the tiny Nation of Islam at home. Under Ronald Reagan, the plot manifested in the bombing of Libya, but every president from Richard M. Nixon to Mr. Trump has plotted against Blacks and Islam, Mr. Farrakhan said.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"></div>“Ronald Reagan wanted to kill Gadhafi,” said the Minister, speaking of the 1986 U.S. bombing of Libya. “The next thing I knew, an American plane was shot down, and one of those fine aircraft carriers, that Mr. Trump brought over to Asia, was in the Gulf of Sirte—but something happened to it. By the time I got to Saudi Arabia, it came out in the Arab news that there was ‘a bright object over the Mediterranean.’ … And I said to those with me; I said, ‘The Wheel was there.’ The electronic equipment on the aircraft carrier was messed up, so it had to go back to Florida.”<br /><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div>“Reagan was doing ‘war games’ in California; when he became president, he brought all that stuff with him into the White House … and the war games were practiced even moreso, because they expected (urban revolts) since ‘67 and ’68, when the riots broke out and Dr. King was assassinated,” Min. Farrakhan observed.<br /><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hmlf_news-conference_11-28-2017h.jpg" height="237" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hmlf_news-conference_11-28-2017h.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 5px 0px 5px 10px;" width="355" /><br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-size: xx-small;">Min. Farrakhan addresses the U.S. government at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. Photos: Andrea Muhammad</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br />“The government of America knew that the Black youth were dangerous, Black folk were becoming more militant, and instead of seeing that there has to be a solution, let’s separate the two people,” he said. Despite four decades of warnings, letters to past presidents, and major 1984 and 1988 press conferences offering separation as an answer, the divine solution offered by Nation of Islam patriarch Elijah Muhammad has been rejected and American presidents and American institutions have targeted Blacks. President Nixon labeled the Left, anti-war groups and Blacks as his enemy. President George Herbert Walker Bush and George W. Bush went to war with the Muslim world. “Did you know that after 9/11, Wesley Clarke, a general, talked about seeing a memo 10 years earlier, out of the Pentagon? …<br /><br />They were going to take down seven Muslim countries in five years, ending with a war on Iran. So the ‘[Arab] Spring’ came, and you saw, like dominoes, members of the Muslim world falling,” he noted. The assault on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001 was a false-flag operation designed to heal to a bitterly divided nation after the Bush-Gore presidential election, said Min. Farrakhan.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hmlf_news-conference_11-28-2017d.jpg" /><br />Independent press and audience at Nov. 15 press conference in Washington, D.C.<br /><br />Bill Clinton, who was called “the first Black president,” did great harm to Blacks, said the Minister. The Clinton administration cut welfare and social safety net programs and oversaw the largest increase in federal and state prison inmates of any president in history. Black men were overwhelmingly jailed because of the Clinton 1994 crime bill and his prison policies. The Minister also distributed 500 copies of Dr. Wesley Muhammad’s book, “Understanding the Assault on The Black Man, Black Manhood and Black Masculinity,” which details efforts to destroy the Black male.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div>Now comes Mr. Trump, who follows Barack Obama and his unsuccessful attempts to make America better, Min. Farrakhan said. Mr. Trump is an “anomaly” who refuses to act “presidential” and whose election has exposed the ugly, ugly side of U.S. race relations and an unrepentant militaristic world view.<br /><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div align="center" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><b>Presidential wars against Islam</b><br /><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"></div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; width: 300px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hmlf_news-conference_11-28-2017e.jpg" height="225" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hmlf_news-conference_11-28-2017e.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 5px 0px 5px 10px;" width="300" /><br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-size: xx-small;">Media Press kits at Min. Farrakhan’s Nov. 15 press conference. Photo: Jesse Muhammad</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>“Mr. President, you’re going to have to deal with either the thought that’s in your mind that will destroy America and her future; because once the trigger of war is pulled, it will escalate,” warned Min. Farrakhan. “Now, I’m going to tell you what my teacher told me: You have planned a war. The war that you have planned, you and your generals, is to the Middle East—you want to use the Sunni, at the prodding of Israel, to attack Iran,” said Min. Farrakhan.<span style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span>The president in his first visit to a foreign nation touted a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia in May and rallied 50 Sunni, Arab nations to confront Iran and her Shia allies. Several news outlets, including the UK-based Daily Mail, reported in mid-November that the king of Saudi Arabia will step down and appoint his son, 32-year-old Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, as his successor. It has been reported that the crown prince made a covert trip to Israel and wants to partner with Israel in a fight against Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, the government in Tehran and possibly have Israel enter the fray in Syria.<br /><br />None of those developments or possible developments bode well for peace in the Middle East as the U.S. is reluctant to engage China militarily and wary of nuclear weapons in North Korea.<br /><br />The Moretti Ballroom at the Watergate Hotel was filled with 500 seats taken, news video cameras in the rear with international, national, Black and independent media covering the press conference. National, political, civil rights, activists and local religious leaders, and student representatives were in the audience alongside international guests, Nation of Islam national and regional laborers, student ministers, Believers, and supporters.<br /><br /><br />With the president facing severe opposition, widespread criticism and a divided party, the Watergate was a striking place from the message to emanate as there are calls for Mr. Trump to be impeached.<br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hmlf_news-conference_11-28-2017f.jpg" height="532" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hmlf_news-conference_11-28-2017f.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 5px 0px 5px 10px;" width="525" /><br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;" /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hmlf_news-conference_11-28-2017g.jpg" height="351" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hmlf_news-conference_11-28-2017g.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 5px 0px 5px 10px;" width="525" /><br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-size: xx-small;">Moretti ballroom, reserved for guests, supporters and members of Minister Farrakhan’s family, was filled to capacity. Photo: Andrea Muhammad</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The press conference, covered by the Farrakhan Twitter Army, trended on social media as a leading topic. Min. Farrakhan candidly stated that as the FBI seeks to target Black Identity Extremists and separatists, there is no doubt that he and the Nation are in the government’s crosshairs. But, he said, the enemy will not be successful in killing him. I will escape their death plots as did my teacher, he said.<br /><br />There was controversy when the Minister wanted to display huge book covers for “The Secret Relationship Blacks and Jews,” and “Understanding the Assault on The Black Man, Black Manhood and Black Masculinity.” The Jewish owners of the hotel objected. Min. Farrakhan defended the books, saying “The Secret Relationship” is composed of work by Jewish scholars and rabbis. There are good, righteous Jews who want to follow the law of God, said the Minister. But, he pointed out, other Jews act like it is a sin to scrutinize Jewish behavior. How can you be better if actions that are contrary to God are not pointed out so that you can be better? Min. Farrakhan asked.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><b>The real Jesus&nbsp;</b></div>Minister Farrakhan carefully explained the theological foundation of the Nation of Islam’s message, explaining why Muslims are taught to reject the false image of Jesus as a Caucasian man. “We have to escape the tyranny of White supremacy that is embodied in an image of Jesus that is not Jesus,” he said.<br /><br />The historical Jesus was not White but if it makes no difference why did Caucasians change his race? asked Min. Farrakhan.<br /><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"></div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hmlf_news-conference_11-28-2017c.jpg" height="345" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hmlf_news-conference_11-28-2017c.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 5px 0px 5px 10px;" width="525" /><br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;" />The Muslim leader stressed the reason he teaches so emphatically about the true identity of Jesus is because he knows who Jesus is. The Jesus you have been looking for was raised among Black people and is the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Min. Farrakhan said. “That man (Elijah Muhammad) is on The Wheel with his Teacher. He’s been up there now for 42 years; he said that God studied 42 years to deliver us from the hands of our tormentors.”<br /><br />It was the Hon. Elijah Muhammad, who escaped a death plot, who spoke to me, disclosed the plans of the presidents for war against Islam and the Nation from the Mother Wheel and whose words have guided the last 32 years of my work, said the Minister. I have one more thing to do to return to the Wheel and see my teacher face-to-face, the Minister boldly stated.<br /><br />“For 40 years I have labored in this vineyard in the absence of my teacher, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. His work among us for 40 years is unparalleled in the work of reform of the Black man and woman, bringing us from the savage state of existence that we were placed in by our former slave masters and their children,” he said.<br /><br />Many Nation of Islam members and supporters in attendance frequently interrupted the remarks with cheers and standing ovations.<br /><br />“Now those of you who are in love with Jesus Christ, I want you to know that a Black man from Georgia was raised from a dead state: Elijah Muhammad. And you tried to kill him, and you thought you had succeeded. That’s why when I was taken up on The Wheel, he said: ‘Make known to them their plans, and tell them you got it from me, Elijah Muhammad, on The Wheel.’ What was he asking me, pardon me, ordering me to tell you that for? So you would know that he escaped your plot to kill him,” the Minister said.Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-44241925174461548902017-11-07T20:11:00.002-08:002017-11-07T20:11:46.117-08:00From The Final Call Newspaper<h2>Dirty politics, disrespect and voters: What's next for Democrats and Black America?</h2><small>By Charlene Muhammad, Barrington Salmon And Nisa Islam Muhammad | Last updated: Nov 7, 2017 - 1:50:27 PM</small><br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="https://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </h3><a href="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" target="_blank"> What's your opinion on this article?</a><br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="donna-brazile_11-14-2017.jpg" height="348" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/donna-brazile_11-14-2017.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Donna Brazile, former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee and serving as interim chair until November, speaks on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, July 25, 2016. Photo: AP/Wide World photos</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"><br style="clear: both;" /><b>WASHINGTON—</b>The latest crisis for the Democratic Party, sparked by former party interim chair Donna Brazile’s new tell-all book, harkens back to historical mistreatment by an entity that pretends to be a friend of Blacks, several analysts and activists said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 300px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="donna-brazile_tweets1_11-14-2017_1.jpg" height="333" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/donna-brazile_tweets1_11-14-2017_1.jpg" width="300" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"> In “Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White House,” Ms. Brazile speaks of feeling like she was treated as a slave, not being allowed to spend money she raised to do her job, and how she considered replacing Democrat Hillary Clinton with former Vice President Joe Biden after Ms. Clinton fainted on the presidential campaign trail.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">Ms. Brazile has been met with attacks from within her party, some, including Blacks, telling her to shut up, to which she replied, “Go to hell.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Revelations by DNC strategist Brazile may have startled some but many were not surprised, including Lauren Victoria Burke, who writes about Congress and politics from Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.&nbsp;She is the managing editor for POLITIC365.COM. </div><div class="BasicParagraph">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 300px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="donna-brazile_tweets2_11-14-2017_1.jpg" height="307" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/donna-brazile_tweets2_11-14-2017_1.jpg" width="300" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">“It’s strange that she’s getting attacked for things people say in the background all the time about the DNC. The DNC is becoming irrelevant. People are starting their own campaigns, similar to what Barak Obama did with Obama for America. He knew the DNC favored Hillary Clinton and wanted to elect her,” said Ms. Burke. “What she (Donna Brazile) is saying is the type of thing that many have said for a long time about the DNC.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Former Ohio state senator Nina Turner told CNN Nov. 3, that Ms. Brazile’s remarks are indicative of a crisis in Washington. “The fact that you have someone like Donna Brazile, who was the first African American woman to run a national campaign, a presidential campaign … ran Vice President&nbsp;Al Gore‘s campaign, 30-year relationship with the DNC and also the Clintons, and whether people agree with what she has done professionally in her life at certain points, the fact that she is pointing this out means that this is serious and that there is absolutely a crisis in the city,” said the former supporter of&nbsp; Sen.&nbsp; Bernie Sanders, who lost the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination to Mrs. Clinton. She lost the presidential race to Republican Donald J. Trump.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div align="center" class="BasicParagraph"><b>‘I’m not Patsy, the slave’</b></div><div class="BasicParagraph">The book, and an excerpt published on Politico.com, revealed how the Clinton campaign raised money for a broke DNC and exerted control over spending, staffing and important decisions during the presidential primary. Opponent Sanders raised no money and had no such controls over the party.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">Ms. Brazile details a crisis in the DNC that pitted her against Clinton campaign officials. In one fiery conference call, heaped with disrespect for her position as the DNC chair, Ms. Brazile told three senior campaign officials, Charlie Baker, Marlon Marshall and Dennis Cheng, that they were treating her like a slave.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“I’m not Patsy the slave,” Ms. Brazile recalls telling them, a reference to the character played by Lupita Nyong’o in the film “12 Years a Slave.” “Y’all keep whipping me and whipping me and you never give me any money or any way to do my damn job. I am not going to be your whipping girl!”</div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 314px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="donna-brazile_book_11-14-2017.jpg" height="440" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/donna-brazile_book_11-14-2017.jpg" width="314" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"> “The question of this book’s contents is what does it imply for the Democratic Party in the future and what role Black people will play?” said longtime labor union activist Dwight Kirk. “Donna’s comments are consistent with what I’m seeing, which is disengagement of Blacks from the Democratic Party. She expressed betrayal with how the Democratic Party treated her. They thought that she was a loyal party operative and would just go along with the program. They were wrong.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">Mr. Kirk, a member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, agreed that the Democratic Party has fallen short of putting action behind its words.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">“The Democratic Party has squandered opportunities that has put Black people at bay,” he said. “(Democratic Pollster Cornell) Belcher said that Black people were given short shrift with promised jobs within the campaign. And potential Black voters are not targeted properly because the party is trying to capture the angry White male vote versus that of Blacks and other constituencies.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“This Brazile thing to me is a distancing, disjointed thing going down with the party and Black folks.&nbsp; What direction will the party take? Will it mobilize voters, turn out Black candidates or try to win back White blue-collar voters? If they not dealing with criminal justice, inequality and police brutality, they’ll fall short in attracting Black voter support.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Mr. Kirk argues that continued exclusion, White privilege and inequality—if unchecked, will impede the Democratic Party’s efforts to become more relevant to a voter base that is becoming browner and younger, very different from the party of the past 50 years.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">&nbsp;There was concern among Democratic establishment circles of the timing of the book and its impact on Nov. 6 elections in Virginia and New Jersey.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“The timing couldn’t have been worse. It does us no good to hash out all this stuff,” former DNC chairman and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell told Politico of the financial arrangement at the center of Ms. Brazile’s recounting. “At this point, we should be looking to the future—what’s done is done,” he said. “There was no crime committed, but it would’ve been easy to avoid. [So] I don’t think it was rigged, I think what the DNC did was just awful.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div align="center" class="BasicParagraph"><b>Trying to save the DNC?</b></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Ms. Brazile said she promised Sen. Sanders that when she took over at the Democratic National Committee after the convention, that she “would get to the bottom of whether Hillary Clinton’s team had rigged the nomination process, as a cache of emails stolen by Russian hackers and posted online had suggested.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 300px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="debbie-wasserman-schultz_11-14-2017.jpg" height="331" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/debbie-wasserman-schultz_11-14-2017.jpg" width="300" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Debbie Wasserman Schultz</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"> She said she found an organization in shambles because of the neglect of disgraced former DNC head Debbie Wasserman Schultz and then-President Barack Obama and the financial shenanigans by the Clinton campaign “that were keeping the party on life support.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">The Clinton campaign, she said, as leaked emails revealed, “was grabbing money from the state parties for its own purposes, leaving the states with very little to support down-ballot races.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">This weakness is what has hobbled Democrats, said Bill Fletcher, Jr., a racial justice, labor and international activist and writer.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“We need a shift of thinking on statewide strategies,” he said. “We have to look at these strategies more seriously. (Democrats) and many progressives have really ignored these elections but most of the damage is being done at the state level.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Mr. Fletcher argues that Blacks need not abstain from electoral politics, but need to adopt a more confrontational yet strategic posture. “Every time that we get upset with White progressives or liberals, all we have to do is look at history for the patterns that have played out,” he explained.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“There’s always been uneasiness. There have been points of moments of tremendous unity and the 1890s where there was complete splintering. It’s not if Democrats treat (Black people) well. We also have to understand as Frederick Douglass said, that power concedes nothing without a struggle. We can’t get anything from Democrats by kneeling or complaining. Winning means we need allies. It’s a question of if we want to win or merely register a protest. What we need to do is build alliances and win and push the party to its limits. I think a lot of us have gone on and not thought about winning but are inclined to accept glorious defeat.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div align="center" class="BasicParagraph"><b>Self first instead of plantation politics?</b></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Dr. Ava Muhammad, national spokesperson for Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan, holds an opposite view from Mr. Fletcher, arguing that neither Republicans nor Democrats are serious about integrating Blacks into the fabric of their parties.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“I don’t see a place for Black people in the Democratic Party,” the author, lawyer and talk-show host asserted. “A third party is absolutely needed. We’re dealing with effect not cause. It’s the effect of pre-existing cause which is the distribution of wealth and resources. Financial, educational and political institutions set up while we were still picking cotton. Closing the gap within these institutions is not feasible.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“We cannot vote our way into equality. Black people were congressmen, governors, mayors, and the ultimate prize—president of the United States. President Obama was brilliant, and he emerged from two terms unscathed, untouched by scandal but substantively, as a people, we have not made progress. We need to be about Self. Self-identity leads to economic strength, which leads to political power. It begins with self-identity.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“Black people have always known that they got short shrift from the Democratic Party. Black people have always known that the Democratic Party is the party of Rahm Emanuel, the party of endless Israeli wars, and if anyone chose to speak up for the U.S. interests, they were slapped to the curve and eventually out of the Congress,” said human rights advocate Cynthia McKinney. “That’s what happened to <i>me</i>, but, that is the position of the Democratic Party.” </div><div class="BasicParagraph">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 225px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="Cynthia_McKinney_11-14-2017.jpg" height="285" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/Cynthia_McKinney_11-14-2017.jpg" width="225" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Cynthia McKinney</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">Ms. McKinney is a former U.S. congresswoman. She told The Final Call Ms. Brazile hasn’t told the whole story, and is repeating what the former Georgia lawmaker stated years ago. She spoke with The Final Call in a phone interview from Iraq.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">Notwithstanding the fact it’s <i>way</i> too late, and criminal conduct was engaged in, and more details exist, it’s good Ms. Brazile spoke up, but it’s nothing new, argued Ms. McKinney. Ms. Brazile has said Clinton’s control of the DNC was unfair but no crimes were committed.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">The Democratic Party savior could not have Senator Sanders, because he supported many of the Israeli wars, said Ms. McKinney. The long-time Independent Party politician from Vermont failed to beat Ms. Clinton in the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primary.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“This is not change! This is at best <i>face change</i>. It is not regime change, and the Democratic Party needs regime change,” Ms. McKinney added. Barack Obama was face change, but still, too many Blacks do not understand the difference between the two, she said. “They don’t understand the difference between being a slave and being free and dying for your freedom.&nbsp; They don’t understand that yet, and so Barack Obama represents just a different face of the same plantation.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Dr. Gerald Horne, Moore’s chair of History and African American Culture at the University of Houston, said, “On the one hand the concerns of Donna Brazil resonated with me in terms of being treated like a slave—those are her words by the way—in terms of the general atmosphere of racism that she had to confront at the highest levels of the Democratic Party.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">While it dovetails with what he already knew or suspected, the revelations may be too little too late, Dr. Horne continued. “It may be an attempt to provide juicy headlines to sell a book,” he said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“The Democratic Party has a fundamental contradiction that many do not want to confront. On the one hand, it is a representative of big business and bosses; and on the other hand, it seeks to speak for those who work for big business and bosses, particularly the Black community. So the Democratic Party is trying to run with the hares and hunt with the hounds,” Dr. Horne argued. “It’s trying to be all things to all people or to most people, and inevitably, that leads to rifts.&nbsp; Inevitably, that leads to convulsions.&nbsp; Inevitably, that leads to tell- all books that, apparently, Donna Brazile has written.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Part of the dilemma is many feel there are no alternatives to the Democratic Party except Donald Trump and the Republican Party and they say Democratic unity must prevail. Dr. Horne and others warn Democrats not to take the Black vote for granted.&nbsp; “That, I think, would be a fatal error,” Dr. Horne stated. While Democrat Hillary Clinton received Black support, she won fewer votes than Mr. Obama and failed to energize Black voters.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Dr. Melina Abdullah, chair of the Pan-African Studies Department at California State University Los Angeles, and organizer with Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, said Ms. Brazile shows again why Blacks need to critically probe their relationship with the Democratic Party.&nbsp;</div><div class="BasicParagraph">“We need to recognize that both major parties represent White supremacist capitalism, and neither really advance Black Liberation,” she told The Final Call.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Black Lives Matter doesn’t buy into Democratic Party politics, and certainly has not been part of the Republican regime, she said. The educator urged Blacks to consider third parties, and ways they can engage in public policy reform outside of traditional politics.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“I think it’s really important that we understand the limitations of electoral politics, that you’re never going to vote yourself into freedom, and so it doesn’t mean that we don’t vote, but it means that we can’t rely primarily on voting as our primary liberation struggle,” Dr. Abdullah said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">In a letter published November 4 on Medium by Jesse Ferguson, Democratic strategist and former press secretary, 100 Hillary Clinton aides expressed shock that Ms. Brazile considered replacing Ms. Clinton and her running mate Tim McCain. Voices 4 Hillary dubbed the book “Brazile fiction,” saying they “do not recognize the campaign she portrays in the book.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Jasmyne Cannick, Los Angeles-based political consultant and media commentator, warned against Democrats going too hard against a party stalwart. “Ms. Brazile is a highly respected Black woman. The DNC’s relationship with Blacks in America—who by and large still continue to vote Democrat—is rocky at best.&nbsp; Going after and defaming Donna Brazile to try and save face in light of these truths coming out will not bode well for the Party—and they know that,” she said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“Basically the Democratic Party is yet to change, so they will always be treated as an afterthought, as a transaction,” predicted Ms. McKinney&nbsp; “Let’s spend $24 million on election day and make sure the Black community is flushed with money on one day, but let’s not give them any public policy. … That’s what the Democratic Party does,” she said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Ms. McKinney likened the Black predicament politically to a toddler. “If we are not at that stage and we are still looking to mama to put us up on her shoulders, and that means the Democratic Party, then we will never ever walk on our own two feet,” she said. Ms. McKinney, who was critical of Democratic policies while in Congress, served as a Democrat.<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-14197749750153010632017-10-31T16:44:00.002-07:002017-10-31T16:44:30.715-07:00From The Final Call Newspaper<h2>Reclaiming Our Time: Women’s Convention Convenes In Detroit</h2><small>By Andrea Muhammad, Contributing Writer | Last updated: Oct 31, 2017 - 1:01:32 PM</small><br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="https://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </h3><a href="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" target="_blank"> What's your opinion on this article?</a><br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="womans-march-organizers_11-07-2017.jpg" height="395" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/womans-march-organizers_11-07-2017.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Women of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds convened in Detroit. (R) Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) Photos: Andrea Muhammad</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /><b>DETROIT—</b>The inauguration of President Donald Trump prompted the largest coordinated political protest in U.S. history and one of the largest in world history. The Women’s March took place on January 21, 2017 with a “mission to harness the political power of all women and their communities to create transformative social change.”<br /><br /><br />Nine months later, thousands of women from across the country gathered in Detroit for the Women’s Convention from October 27-29. Attendees included “first time activists and movement leaders, rising political stars reflecting our nation’s changing demographics gathered with the intent of tapping into the power of women in leadership as the fundamental, grassroots force for change. A change organizers are hopeful will serve as the beginning of a political groundswell, showing that the rise of the woman is the rise of the nation,” said the group behind the gathering.<br /><br />Faiza Ali of New York said, “I was really inspired by the Women’s March in Washington in January [after the inauguration of President Donald Trump]. I felt this was a good follow up to talk about what we do from being out on the street and protesting to actually changing policy. A lot of the workshops that I have been attending thus far have been about how we get women who look like us, who share our values to run for office.”<br /><br />Since the 2016 election, Ms. Ali also noted “a lot of people are angry. People are outraged. One thing I was&nbsp;worried about with the Women’s March was that people would get tired. The last 10 months of this particular administration has been extremely difficult for many communities of color. <br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="womans-march-organizers_11-07-2017d.jpg" height="359" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/womans-march-organizers_11-07-2017d.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Young women hold signs supporting the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) also known as the “Dream Act.”</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>“What I learned when I first got here to the Cobo Center this morning is that there are lines of women trying to get in. I think that there are many things that bring people to this space, it’s not just one thing. People feel that this is a place of community where they are angry and upset but also they are moving to action.”<br /><br /><br />During a highly-charged opening session, national co-chair Tamika Mallory welcomed the sold-out conference proclaiming, “They told us that we would only get together to march on one day and look at all of you who have shown up here this morning!” <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="womans-march-organizers_11-07-2017e.jpg" height="289" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/womans-march-organizers_11-07-2017e.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Packed audience listens to presentation at Women’s Convention in Detroit at the Cobo Convention Center. Photos: Andrea Muhammad</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Ms. Mallory set the tone for attendees to engage in open, honest dialog stating, “The only way for us to be productive is through truth. It is important that we tell the truth.”<br />Speaking of confronting challenges in the movement regarding changes in America’s racial, social, political and economic demographics, Ms. Mallory drew a thunderous applause. “When we hear that our Muslim brothers and sisters are under attack, we need to stand up. When we hear that our Mexican brothers and sisters are under attack, we need to stand up. When we hear that our DACA registrants are under attack, we need to stand up. When we hear that Black&nbsp;people are under attack, we must stand up. When we hear that our children are under attack, we must stand up and when we hear that women are under attack, we must stand up!” she declared.<br /><br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="rep-maxine-waters_11-07-2017.jpg" height="363" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/rep-maxine-waters_11-07-2017.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) fired up the crowd during her remarks.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Ms. Mallory took on the notion of feminism as an entitlement exclusively for White women saying, “Your feminism does not represent me if it is only about our right to get an abortion. If you do not care about the fact that I cannot even have children because I am too poor, then your feminism does not represent me. If men are not a part of this movement, your feminism does not represent me because I have an 18-year-old son that I cannot leave behind, he must be protected. If your feminism does not include how gun violence impacts our communities, it does not represent me. And if your feminism is the difference between Bernie and Hilary, it&nbsp;does not represent me!”<br /><br /><br />“Don’t call me about Bernie Sanders. I’m not interested in having that conversation. I want to know what you are doing on the ground in your communities. Who have you saved?&nbsp;Who have you lifted? Where are the most marginalized communities that you have walked through?”<br /><br />Actress Rose McGowan gave her first public address since accusing movie producer Harvey Weinstein of sexually assaulting her. She defiantly told the audience, “No more will we be shunted to the side. No more will we be hurt. It’s time to rise; it’s time to be brave in the face of unspeakable action.”&nbsp; <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="womans-march-organizers_11-07-2017b.jpg" height="341" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/womans-march-organizers_11-07-2017b.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Many breakout sessions were moderated over the weekend including hyperlocal activism (creating successful neighborhood groups); women’s economic and entrepreneurial empowerment; gender equity; histories of Black and Southern women organizing; lobbying and grassroots advocacy; police violence against women of color; confronting White womanhood; immigrant protection and advocacy; training classes on running for elected offices and a powerfully delivered keynote address from Rep. Maxine Waters of California.<br /><br />Students from the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy in Detroit participated in the “We All We Got? Reflecting on 40 years of Black Women Organizing” session. Areiona Burton, a senior, said, “I am looking forward to learning a different way to display confidence in Black women, to be more independent, display more pride in our color and ourselves.” <br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="womans-march-organizers_11-07-2017c.jpg" height="350" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/womans-march-organizers_11-07-2017c.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Students and participants from the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy at convention.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /> The energetic Democratic stateswoman affectionately referred to as “Auntie” by millennials gave a stinging rebuke of the abuse and mistreatment of women saying, “As we continue to witness a record number of women who are boldly coming forward to reveal disturbing and grotesque acts of sexual harassment, assault and rape oftentimes at the hands of men who believed they were too rich and too powerful to ever be confronted or held accountable. Women who may have lived in shame or fear but have now boldly come forward with their own #MeToo stories and expose just how prevalent rape culture is in our society.”<br /><br /><br />The congresswoman drew thunderous applause declaring, “We will not tolerate, ignore or be a part of a culture or turn a blind eye to sexual harassment and violence! Keep your nasty comments away from us! Keep your tricks and your lies to yourself! And keep your hands off our backs and our goddamned bottoms!”<br /><br />Congresswoman Waters further ignited the audience, bringing them to their feet as she took on Donald Trump for his past and present treatment of women up to her friend and colleague Florida Democrat Frederica Wilson. “This is a president who has insulted a grieving widow and even a gold star soldier. This is a president who mocked a disabled reporter. This is a president who is slow to offend the White supremacist and KKK!” The congresswoman closed by asking the audience to join with her in repeating chants of “Impeach 45.”<br /><br />Symone Sanders, a political strategist, CNN commentator and former national press secretary for the Bernie Sanders 2016 Presidential Campaign, told The Final Call, “Maxine Waters is out there saying things that a lot of people actually do think and believe. Things that people are saying behind closed doors, but no one would ever dare say it on CNN or MSNBC.” <br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="womans-march-organizing_11-07-2017.jpg" height="350" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/womans-march-organizing_11-07-2017.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /> Sixteen-year-old Winter Minisee, founder of community organization BlackIsLit, told The Final Call, “I think she’s [Congresswoman Maxine Waters] just very moving. She’s unapologetically Black. She doesn’t hold her tongue to appease her White counterparts. She speaks the uncomfortable truth which I really love. She has really motivated young people.”<br /><br /><br />In an exclusive interview with The Final Call, Tamika Mallory said, “There were a lot of people who were not sure that we could have a mass mobilization on&nbsp;Jan. 21&nbsp;and turn around&nbsp;nine months later&nbsp;and&nbsp;have an occasion that brings people for real thoughtful process so that we can do work on the hyper local level so that we are prepared with the tools and resources that we need to be real grassroots organizers.”<br /><br />Those doubts appear to have been put to rest.<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-34363054497648433622017-10-24T18:55:00.001-07:002017-10-24T18:55:20.019-07:00From the Final Call Newspaper<h2>Cointelpro 2017? - FBI targets what it calls “Black Identity Extremist” groups</h2><small>By <a href="http://www.twitter.com/sischarlene">Charlene Muhammad</a> -National Correspondent- | Last updated: Oct 24, 2017 - 12:31:55 PM</small><br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="https://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </h3><a href="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" target="_blank"> What's your opinion on this article?</a><br /><em><strong><span style="font-size: small;">More questions, few answers about the FBI targeting of Black groups</span></strong></em><br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="rep-cedric-richmond_10-31-2017.jpg" height="321" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/rep-cedric-richmond_10-31-2017.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., right, speaks at a Congressional Tri-Caucus news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 27, on injustice and inequality in America. Photos: AP/Wide World photos</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"><br style="clear: both;" /><span style="font-size: small;">National Black leaders, organizations, and activists continue to challenge the Federal Bureau of Investigation over its leaked “Black Identity Extremists” report labeling certain Black individuals and organizations as violent threats to police.</span></div><div class="BasicParagraph"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">The Congressional Black Caucus, including ranking members on three House committees, has requested a meeting with FBI Director Christopher Wray.&nbsp; At Final Call presstime, the Black lawmakers had not received a response to their letter sent Oct. 13.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="fbi-director_christopher-wray_10-31-2017.jpg" height="217" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/fbi-director_christopher-wray_10-31-2017.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">FBI director Christopher Wray is shown before speaking to reporters during a dedication ceremony for the new Atlanta Field Office building Oct. 12.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"> CBC Chairman Cedric L. Richmond and John Conyers, Jr., the Judiciary Committee; Bennie G. Thompson, the Homeland Security Committee; and Elijah E. Cummings of the House Oversight Committee want to know the origins of the report and how it will be used.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">They also expressed concern about the Aug. 3 document, given the FBI’s “troubling history” of targeting Black leaders and movements, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other civil rights leaders.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“The assessment and the analyses upon which it is based are flawed because it conflates Black political activists with dangerous domestic terrorist organizations that pose actual threats to law enforcement. It relies on a handful of obviously terrible incidents to paint Black Americans who exercise free speech against witnessed police brutality as possible violent extremists,” charged the lawmakers.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">The FBI declined The Final Call’s request for an interview and gave no comment on the intelligence report itself. “Our focus is not on membership in particular groups but on individuals who commit violence and other criminal acts. Furthermore, the FBI does not and will not police ideology. When an individual takes violent action based on belief or ideology and breaks the law, the FBI will enforce the rule of law,” stated Andrew Ames of the FBI’s national press office in an email response to The Final Call.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4067711/BIE-Redacted.pdf" target="_blank"><img alt="fbi-document_10-24-2017_1.jpg" height="474" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/fbi-document_10-24-2017_1.jpg" width="355" /></a> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"> Critics point to a double standard when it comes to how certain groups are viewed or perceived as threats. There have been documented cases of violence perpetrated by White anti-government militias and White supremacist groups that U.S. law enforcement should be more concerned with, activists said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">“We know they’re targeting us. They’ve always targeted us, and maybe they’re stating it more blatantly, maybe they’ll come after us more blatantly than they have in recent years, but the freedom of our people means that we have to work for what it means to be free. The freedom of our people is more important than any risks that we run,” said Dr. Melina Abdullah, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and chair of the Pan African Studies Department at California State University-Los Angeles.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">“Who are they calling an extremist? They’re calling us extremists, but they’re saying nothing of the real extremists, who are assaulting and killing our people. Why is there no call for threats that White Identity Extremists pose?” she asked.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“When we think about the number of people who have been killed by terrorists in this country, White men are by far the most dangerous group, but there’s no umbrella term for White Identity Extremists,” she added.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div align="center" class="BasicParagraph"><b>The record against ‘White extremists’</b></div><div class="BasicParagraph">In October 2006, the FBI’s “White Supremacists Infiltration of Law Enforcement” intelligence report indicated White supremacist have had a historical interest in infiltrating law enforcement communities or recruiting law enforcement personnel. </div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="white-nationalists_10-31-2017.jpg" height="352" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/white-nationalists_10-31-2017.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Two supporters of White nationalist Richard Spencer clash with a crowd of protesters after Spencer spoke at the University of Florida in Gainesville on Oct. 19. Photo: AP/Wide World photos</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"><br style="clear: both;" /> The report, redacted almost line for line, concealed much of what it was supposed to address, except that it examined infiltration from organized groups and law enforcement personnel sympathetic to White supremacist causes. It hid information pertaining to recruitment campaigns and systematic attempts by White supremacist groups to infiltrate law enforcement. But among White supremacist sympathizers, the FBI reported that the Ku Klux Klan was notable for historically having support in many communities and ties to local law enforcement.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">“Of the 85 violent extremist incidents that resulted in death since September 12, 2001, far right-wing violent extremist groups were responsible for 62 (73 percent),” said a General Accounting Office report, “Countering Violent Extremism,” issued earlier this year.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“In that same 15-year span they’ve also killed 34 police officers, compared to 10 from left-wing extremists (including the five officers killed within minutes of each other in Dallas), and one from a domestic jihadist terrorist,” observed Paste.com in a September article titled, “White Lives Matter, Blue Lives Don’t: Right-Wingers Kill More Cops Than Any Other Group.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“Despite these stats, police kill black people 2.5 times more frequently than they kill white people. What’s more, police kill unarmed black people at five times the rate they kill unarmed white people. That gap is racism at its ugliest,” Paste.com observed. “This January the Intercept published an important but overlooked story about another FBI investigation: White supremacists have infiltrated law enforcement organizations around the country. That’s right: white supremacists want to kill cops, and white supremacists want to be cops.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Activists argued the Justice Department is neither going to pursue these White hate groups, nor call them out as threats.&nbsp;</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“We’ve seen a blatant example in Dylan Roof, after his arrest, the police literally took him out to eat at Burger King. This document is a sign of the times. Though U.S. President Donald Trump is extremely reactionary, the machine which he represents is not reactionary,” said Fred Hampton, Jr., a Chicago activist and son of assassinated Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton. He was referring to the young, White convicted murderer of nine people in a Black church in Charleston, S.C. Mr. Roof, who was sentenced to death after a federal trial, pleaded guilty last year to state charges related to the 2015 killings.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">James Alex Fields, Jr., 20-year-old alleged White supremacist, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Heather Heyer, an anti-racist demonstrator, and injuries to 19 others when he weaponized his car, mowing them over during a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va. in August.&nbsp;</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">On Oct. 19, White supremacists rallied again at an Alt-Right rally at the University of Florida featuring Neo-Nazi Richard Spencer and were met with mass demonstrators mobilized by the ANSWER Coalition.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Three White nationalists were charged with attempted homicide after they shot at the anti-racists protestors. According to police, 28-year-old Tyler Tenbrink fired a single shot that struck a building, after Colton Fears, 28, and William Fears, 30, encouraged him to “kill them,” and “shoot them.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph">Then there have been armed stand-offs between Whites and federal agents in recent years, including the January 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters in Oregon and the 2014 Bundy Ranch standoff. Cliven Bundy engaged in an armed confrontation with law enforcement after the federal government ordered him to pay over $1 million in grazing fees for his federally-owned land near his ranch in southeastern Nevada. Many of those involved in the Bundy Ranch standoff joined the Oregon occupation. It ended with one White militia member shot to death by federal agents.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">In March 2010, the Justice Department indicted nine members of a White, Christian militia group in a plot to murder police officers. “Hutaree,” an anti-government extremist organization, advocates violence against local, state, and federal law enforcement, according to the Justice Department.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">Basically, the group planned to kill police in traffic stops, by ambush in rural communities, or by luring them with a false 911, according to the authorities. Seven were acquitted on charges related to conspiracy and sedition, and two were sentenced to time served on weapons related charges, and two years’ probation.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div align="center" class="BasicParagraph"><b>A long history of domestic terror, surveillance against Blacks?</b></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“Keep in mind, ‘alt-right’ is a very nice way of talking about White Supremacists, including White Supremacists organizations that have been active in this country, primarily from its very beginnings,” said Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP Washington Bureau.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“I think what we’re seeing is, there’s been a consistent growth in White Supremacists hate groups in this country, that was also stimulated by having an African American being elected to serve as president of the United States,” Mr. Shelton told The Final Call.&nbsp; “We’ve seen, based on data from the Justice Department and other places, there has been a consistent uptick in recruiting and membership to these White Supremacists organizations throughout the country.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">On Oct. 18, the American Civil Liberties Union and Center for Media Justice filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking other records regarding the FBI’s surveillance of Black people on the basis of a supposed shared ideology, including records using the term “Black Identity Extremists.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Malkia Cyril, executive director of Center for Media Justice, and Hugh Handeyside, staff attorney with the ACLU’s National Security Project, said the FBI’s assessment contains troubling signs that it is scrutinizing and possibly surveilling Black activists in its search for potential “extremists.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph">They found the report disturbing on several levels, starting with the label “Black Identity Extremist.” The FBI definition of the term is so confusing as to be unintelligible, critics said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">The FBI assessment mentions the Moorish Science Temple and followers of Noble Drew Ali, and not the Nation of Islam, but “we know they’re coming,” said the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan during his recent riveting address, “Separation or Death,” commemorating the 22nd Anniversary of the Million Man March and Holy Day of Atonement.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“I thought since they said that separation of Black people from White people was one of the things that upset them, so I want to upset them a little more today,” Min. Farrakhan during his Oct. 15 address from Symphony Hall in Newark.&nbsp;</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“The Minister said after acknowledging the existence of this report, that the only solution to the toxic relationship between Black and White is separation, and of course, he put up on the screen the first four issues under What the Muslims Want in the Muslim Program that was developed by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad,” said Dr. Ava Muhammad, national spokesperson for Min. Farrakhan.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">“I believe very strongly that the FBI report is the product of an effort to craft some type of policy and law that will allow the U.S. government to come after the Nation of Islam as we move forward on behalf of our people to implement the Muslim Program,” she said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Roy Bey, national coordinator for the Moorish American National Republic, under the leadership of National Grand Sheik Jole Bratton Bey, said the group will not stand by and be the FBI’s new target.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">“The enemy never sleeps, and we are all targets of this political construct, and they are finding discrepancies with the Moorish American paradigm, because some of us claim sovereignty,” he said.</div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 300px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="agents-of-aggression_10-31-2017.jpg" height="472" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/agents-of-aggression_10-31-2017.jpg" width="300" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"> Ward Churchill, Native American activist, former head of the ethnic studies department at the University of Colorado, and author of “Agents of Repression,” warned, “Beware of erratic, irrational behavior of particularly people approaching to become members.” This type of infiltration of Black organizations helped the groups fall victim to COINTELPRO, he observed.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph"><a href="https://www.noi.org/contelpro" target="_blank">Under the COINTELPRO secret domestic infiltration program, the FBI used agents as spies, criminals and others</a> to disrupt and neutralize legitimate organizations, said Mr. Churchill. It was all part of a trap as part of the aim was to instill paranoia, he said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“The only real antidote I know to that is imperfect, to exercise some common sense and to step on rumors, because one of the main techniques that was used for internal disruption and the amplification of internal tensions and negative dynamics was to spread rumors based on nothing at all,” Mr. Churchill stated.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">“Just simply with the state putting this out, the system putting this out, this sets an atmosphere from the White House on down, to the rank and file police officers, to the school teachers, TSAs and airports, to the sentiments of everyday people, to the music, to how entertainers dress, what people feel they can say and what now becomes ‘politically correct’ and what’s not politically correct,” said Mr. Hampton, Jr.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“Though this is an articulation of how this system has been operating quite historically, COINTELPRO has never ceased. …&nbsp; In fact, we use the term ‘NOWINTELPRO,’ ” said the activist, who is also chairman of the Prisoners of Consciousness Committee.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Despite constant attacks, there’s been resistance, uprisings, and organizing, which must continue, he said.&nbsp; Mr. Hampton believes the government underestimated the people’s rebellion in Ferguson, Mo., which though small in locale, was a marker that has and continues to inspire many.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Be mindful of the government creating bogus organizations, spokespersons, and individuals as agent provocateurs to justify repressive tactics, not only against individuals in organizations, but against people in general, he said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Krystal Muhammad, chairman of the New Black Panther Party, said the FBI is essentially criminalizing common terminology by twisting words and making being Black a crime.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">“It is criminal that we feed our people? No. It’s not. It is criminal that we speak up against the tyranny of this government? No. It is not. It is criminal that when our people have been devastated by natural and manmade disasters that we’re out doing search and rescues? No, it’s not,” Ms. Muhammad said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Dr. Boyce Watkins, author, academic and Black economic empowerment advocate, told The Final Call he was detained during a recent trip to London, which took him by surprise.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">He couldn’t figure out if his nine-hour hold to determine if he was on a work visa for a scheduled speaking engagement was really a technicality or based on political motivations.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">They took his picture and wanted to fingerprint him. He said he was held in a room where he couldn’t contact the outside world. He said he was threatened and couldn’t mention anything about the detention on social media.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“My reaction is I’m just not one to fall for your intimidation. I’m going to call your bluff. My term is you’re not going to try to molest me in the dark. You know how child molesters will try to scare the child into not telling nobody? My feeling is I’m going to tell the world what happened here so that people are just aware of what’s going on,” he said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Lawyers with BlackHistoryStudies.com helped to finally gain his release, he said.&nbsp; They also shared with him the history of the UK ban on Min. Farrakhan, Dr. Watkins continued.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“Because I have so much respect for the Minister, I said, ‘well, at least I’m in good company,’ ” he said.<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-17810239770668081342017-10-17T12:41:00.000-07:002017-10-17T12:55:59.934-07:00<h2 style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 35px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">False flags and Black America's salvation</h2><h2 style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 35px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"><small style="color: #9f9e9e; display: block; font-family: verdana; font-size: 9px; padding-bottom: 10px; text-transform: uppercase;">BY ASKIA MUHAMMAD AND RICHARD B. MUHAMMAD, FINAL CALL STAFFERS | LAST UPDATED: OCT 17, 2017 - 2:14:05 PM</small></div></h2><h3 style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734" style="color: #0d719b; font-family: georgia;"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="https://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0px; float: right; margin: 5px 0px 5px 10px;" width="125" /></a></h3><h2 style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 35px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" style="color: #0d719b; font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">What's your opinion on this article?</a></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal;"></div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="oct15_2017_keynote-address_10-24-2017.jpg" height="498" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/oct15_2017_keynote-address_10-24-2017.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 5px 0px 5px 10px;" width="525" /><br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Audience members listen intently to lecture given by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan entitled, “Separation or Death,” for the 22nd Anniversary of the Million Man March held at the Newark Symphony Hall in Newark, New Jersey. Photos: Andrea Muhammad</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"><br style="clear: both; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;" /></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">NEWARK—Some scholars and scientists demonstrate their intellectual prowess by observing simple phenomena, natural phenomena, and explaining their observations to other scholars in fancy polysyllabic terms.<span style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal;"></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal;"></div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="usa-flag-displayed_10-24-2017.jpg" height="262" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/usa-flag-displayed_10-24-2017.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 5px 0px 5px 10px;" width="355" /><br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Veterans hold American flag during playing of the National Anthem before the Milwaukee Bucks face the Denver Nuggets in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Nov. 11, 2015, in Denver. Photo: AP/Wide World photos</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan however, takes the complex and sometimes confusing concepts of nature and society, explaining them so that both the unlettered and the learned understand clearly.<br /><br />And as part of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.noi.org/hdoa2017/">a near three hour lecture</a>, the Minister spoke to the issue of justice, judgment and the controversy regarding respect for the American flag roiling the country.<br /><br />He spoke Oct. 15 to a controversy that exploded nationwide following professional football player Colin Kaepernick’s decision last year to protest to racial injustices and the unjust police killings of Blacks by not standing for the national anthem.<br /><br />Instead of dealing with the young star’s appeal for justice by taking a knee, President Donald J. Trump switched the narrative to talk of disrespecting the American flag, Min. Farrakhan.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/oct15_2017_keynote-address_10-24-2017b.jpg" /><br />Nuri Muhammad of Muhammad Mosque No. 74 in Indianapolis describes the audience as a "bouquet of human beings," attending the 22nd Anniversary of the Million Man March. Photo: Courtney X<br /></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">It was another ploy to mute Black cries for justice, freedom and equality and whitewash the history of a flag drenched with the blood of Black people.<br /></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">“Black people don’t hate the flag as such. Black people don’t hate America as such,” said the Minister. “But they just wanted to draw attention to what we have been suffering under the flag. And the police that shoot us down, they have a flag somewhere on their uniform. When we go to court, the flag is there and we can’t get justice.”<br /><br />Men like his son’s father-in-law, who fought and lost comrades in World War II, stand for the flag with their hands over their hearts in remembrance of honorable men who lost their lives, said the Minister from the stage at Newark Symphony Hall as part of a weekend commemoration of the 22nd anniversary of the Million Man March.<br /></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">His subject was “Separation Or Death.” Blacks have fought and died in every war under the flag, with Crispus Attucks, a Black man, the first to die in the Revolutionary war, but have not received the freedoms the flag represents, said Min. Farrakhan.<br /><br />The federal code for proper treatment of the flag says one should not be punished for not standing for the flag. It prohibits the horizontal display of the flag—which is the standard for National Football League games.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/oct15_2017_keynote-address_10-24-2017c.jpg" /><br /><br /><br />(L-R) Nuri Muhammad, Abdul Haqq Muhammad, Abdul Hafeez Muhammad<br /><br /><br /><img src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/oct15_2017_keynote-address_10-24-2017d.jpg" /><br /><br /><br />(L-R) Louis Scott Roundtree, Imam Aquil Mateen, David Muhammad, Ishmael Muhammad<br /><br />The use of the flag is tied to millions paid to the NFL from the Defense Dept. to “display flag in a disrespectful manner,” the Minister observed. It’s not about patriotism, but about money, recruitment and manipulating love of country to fight America’s wars, said Min. Farrakhan.<br /><br />The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, patriarch of the Nation of Islam and the Minister’s teacher, taught Muslims to respect the American flag as a sign of a sovereign nation and reminder that Black people desire to be a sovereign nation with their own flag, Min. Farrakhan said.<br /><br />But, he continued, we do not pledge allegiance to the flag, we pledge allegiance to God and bow to God alone.<br /><br />The Muslim oath is to God: My Prayer, my sacrifice, my life and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. In Islamic tradition the flag is respected but allegiance is not given to a temporal flag.<br /><br />Min. Farrakhan said he would not kneel outside the White House with his fist up. Black salvation is not in the White House but in building your own house as God has decreed, he said.<br /><br />The same day as the Minister’s message, Mr. Kaepernick announced a grievance charging NFL owners colluded to deny him employment during this year’s football season.<br /><br />Mr. Geragos said in a Twitter statement: “If the NFL (as well as all professional sports leagues) is to remain a meritocracy, then principled and peaceful political protest—which the owners themselves made great theater imitating weeks ago—should not be punished.” And “athletes should not be denied employment based on partisan political provocation by the executive branch of our government. Such a precedent threatens all patriotic Americans and harkens back to our darkest days as a nation,” the high profile attorney warned.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/eric-reid-and-colin-kaepernick2016_10-24-2017.jpg" /><br />San Francisco 49ers Eric Reid and Colin Kaepernick take a knee during the National Anthem prior to their game against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte North Carolina.<br /><br /><br />“This lawsuit could literally be a game-changer, not just for Kaepernick, but for the labor rights of all NFL players. He is hoping to trigger termination of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which was signed on 2011 and is set to expire in 2021, by proving that the NFL-at-large conspired to keep him out of the league,” said<br /><br />ThinkProgress.org.<br />ThinkProgress.org also noted, “Kaepernick parted ways with the 49ers in March, but despite the fact that the 6’4 29 year old has started 58 games in his six-year NFL career and led the 49ers to a Super Bowl in 2013 as a rookie, he remains unemployed six weeks into the season, while dozens of untested and unproven quarterbacks have signed contracts and injuries to elite quarterbacks have left playoff-contending teams hungry for a capable veteran to lead the way.<br /><br />“It doesn’t take a ‘football expert’ to know that something fishy is going on—Kaepernick is objectively more talented and experienced than a swath of starters in the NFL, nevermind the backups.”<br /><br /><img src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/oct15_2017_keynote-address_10-24-2017e.jpg" /><br />Thousands turned out for message at Newark Symphony Hall. Photo: Andrea Muhammad<br /><br /><br /><br />Powerful history, message in Newark<br />Min. Farrakhan spoke of the significance of celebrating the march anniversary where the teaching of Islam among Black former slaves began in North America 95 years ago under Noble Drew Ali.<br /><br />When Minister Farrakhan stood at the podium wearing a muted marine-green suit, white shirt and gold-colored bow tie and pocket scarf, he looked out on thousands in the orchestra seats; and in the balcony there were thousands more in an adjoining overflow room.<br /><br />He looked out on an assembly that Nuri Muhammad, student minister of Muhammad Mosque No. 74 in Indianapolis, described as a “bouquet” of human beings.<br /><br />“You’ve got the Moorish Science Temple in the house,” said Nuri Muhammad. “You’ve got the Baptists in the house. Pentecostals are present. The Sunnis, the Sufis, the Shiites, the Hebrew Israelites, the Jehovah Witnesses are here. The Omegas are here. The Kappas are here. We’ve got the Crips and the Bloods in the building today. We’ve got the Vice Lords. This is how it’s supposed to be, brothers and sisters.”<br /><br />Min. Farrakhan led the audience on a historical and geographical tour of the origins of the Islamic movement and the movement to acquire a separate Black state or territory.<br /><br />The gathering was held at what’s now known as Newark’s Symphony Hall, he explained. The theater was built in 1925 by Shriners, and it was first known as “Salaam Temple,” and it later took on the colloquial name the “Mosque Theater.”<br /><br /><img src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/noble-drew-ali_marcus-garvey_10-24-2017.jpg" /><br /><br />The hall is also the location where Mr. Ali—whose movement was headquartered in Newark—held his community meetings. In 1913 in Newark, he established the Canaanite Temple. Coincidentally, the Moorish Science Temple held its first national convention October 15-20, 1928 in Chicago. Brother Noble Drew Ali was “the prime predecessor” of Master Fard Muhammad—the Saviour, the Founder—of the Nation of Islam in North America, who taught the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and gave Mr. Muhammad his mission, uniting and resurrecting the descendants of slaves.<br /></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">In fact, Minister Farrakhan pointed out, after Noble Drew Ali returned to the ancestors, many of his followers joined the early Nation of Islam, but Mr. Muhammad “never, ever touched the names that Noble Drew Ali gave to his followers. They already had a righteous name.”<br /><br />This point was emphasized at one of the first meetings Minister Farrakhan attended after he accepted Islam. It was in New York City, in 1959, and the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad spoke at the Rico Ray Theater, the location where the Right Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey once held his meetings of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League. “That day he ordered us to always show honor and respect to Noble Drew Ali and Marcus Mosiah Garvey. And that stands to this very hour.”<br /><br />Mr. Garvey, however, never taught Islam, though he was influenced strongly by Duse Mohamed Ali, an Egyptian Muslim, scholar, playwright and journalist, who eventually served as foreign secretary and director of UNIA-ACL African Affairs.<br /></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">Religion and faith are indispensible to the liberation of Blacks and others in this country, said Minister Farrakhan.<br /></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">“And the aim of God is to take humanity, with all its diversity to another level. That we outgrow our race, our ethnicity,” he said. False religious teachings, however, and the false image of a White Jesus must be discarded.<br /><br />Black people can only achieve those higher levels of development after separation from White Americans.<br /><br />“We suffered every kind of indignity to get just a little freedom,” said Min. Farrakhan.<br /><br />If Black people choose to remain with and under the authority of the White Americans, whom God has condemned because of their cruelty and injustices heaped upon them, then, the Minister warned: “You will die with your lover.”<br /><br />Thomas Jefferson, one of the Founding Fathers of this country, its third president and author of the Declaration of Independence, was emphatic in saying Whites and Blacks would not find peace together in a single nation, said the Minister.<br /><br />Mr. Jefferson urged settling Blacks in a separate place with arms, tools for farming and survival and protection as they grew into political maturity.<br /><br />Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, met with a delegation of Negro pastors who were former slaves. “Look at what Abraham Lincoln was saying to our Black pastors. ‘You and we are different races. We have between us a broader difference than exists between almost any other two races. Your race suffers very greatly, many of them by living among us,’ ” said Min. Farrakhan.<br /><br />Minister Farrakhan cleared up some confusion about his “conversion” to Christianity. After a recent lecture at Union Temple Baptist Church in Washington, White Christian media purposely misused his words to suggest he had “just found Jesus.”<br /><br />“At the end of my talk I said: ‘I know that my redeemer liveth. And I said, because he lives, I too shall live, and will stand with him at the latter day,” said Min. Farrakhan.<br /><br />Since 1981 the core of the teaching of Minister Farrakhan has been his and our “Jesus—the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad” is alive and is in control of the forces of nature, and that Mr. Muhammad, and Master Fard Muhammad—Allah in Person—are both backing and protecting the Minister’s every step.<br /><br />While the Muslim leader recognizes that many find his message of separation “unbelievable”—such as Black intellectual Dr. Cornel West, who told the Minister separation is “a pipe dream”—he remains steadfast to separation as God’s solution to America’s race problem.<br /><br />The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad is the “real Jesus,” Minister Farrakhan declared, and an ovation erupted in the auditorium, when Mr. Muhammad’s picture was then displayed on a screen for the audience to see. “Before too long, you too will bear witness,” the Minister said.<br /><br />“America cannot defend herself against what my God has stored up against her. This country however has chosen to wage war against Black people,” said Min. Farrakhan.<br /><br />The Minister promised that he would come back in a few weeks to speak in Washington, directly to President Donald and the federal government, to deliver his message from Elijah Muhammad.<br /><br />“When I deliver my message to Mr. Trump, watch what happens. I’ll get through and so will you if you choose God over Satan, and correct your behavior,” he said.<br /><br />Min. Farrakhan praised the courage and sincerity of those still working to try to change the wicked American system for the better. “Stevie Wonder, Dick Gregory, the Civil Rights Movement, you have beautiful hearts, trying to clean up the system. This is not a system you can reform. It must be destroyed,” he said.</div></h2>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-61018315147619937122017-10-10T16:17:00.001-07:002017-10-10T16:17:05.100-07:00From The Final Call Newspaper<h2>What will end Black suffering?</h2><small>By <a href="http://www.twitter.com/sischarlene">Charlene Muhammad</a> -National Correspondent- | Last updated: Oct 10, 2017 - 1:06:44 PM</small><br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="https://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </h3><a href="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" target="_blank"> What's your opinion on this article?</a><br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="atlanta-job-fair_10-17-2017.jpg" height="231" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/atlanta-job-fair_10-17-2017.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">In this Oct. 19, 2016, file photo, Kanockwa Horton, left, from Stone Mountain, and Jacqueline Merritt, from Atlanta, stand first in line at the Airport Community Job Fair, in Atlanta, joined by hundreds of other applicants in line. Photo: AP/Wide World photos</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"> Black people face harsh realities in all areas, including but not limited to economics, education, health and mass incarceration.</div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">As Blacks continue the fight for political and social justice in the wake of America’s so-called post-racial progress under its first Black president, how can they continue to survive a Donald Trump administration when in better times, solution after solution has failed or netted limited progress?</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">A snapshot of solutions implemented to curb Black suffering shows former president Barack Obama’s administration ushered in 11 million new jobs and reduced racial disparities in health care coverage by passing the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), now under constant threat of repeal by Pres. Trump and the Republican Party. </div><div class="BasicParagraph">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="protests_charlotte2016_10-17-2017.jpg" height="200" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/protests_charlotte2016_10-17-2017.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Protests erupt after deadly police shooting in Charlotte, Sept. 2016.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">Pres. Obama passed the Fair Sentencing Act, which reduced the draconian mandatory minimum drug sentencing ratio for powder and crack cocaine from 100 to 1 to 18 to 1.&nbsp; He released a National HIV/AIDS Strategy Federal Implementation Plan to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care, and reduce HIV-related health disparities.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">He also created the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative to create more pathways to success for young men of color. Prior to that, there was a long history of fights for equality during the Civil Rights Movement which netted passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Civil Rights Act of 1964 and some progress. </div><div class="BasicParagraph">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="protests_baton-rouge_10-17-2017.jpg" height="237" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/protests_baton-rouge_10-17-2017.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">As part of a series of activities, community advocates in Baton Rouge protest outside of City Hall June 28 in Baton Rouge, La. against the de-funding of two local community HIV clinics. The clinics provide care to 30 percent of the HIV population in the area. Photo: AP/Wide World photos</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">But today, Blacks earn less hourly wages (men 22 percent and women 34 percent) than White men with the same education, experience, marital status, and region of residence, according to the Economic Policy Institute.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">One-in-five incarcerated Blacks are serving life or virtual life sentences in America’s prisons, according to the Sentencing Project.</div><div align="center" class="BasicParagraph" style="text-align: left;">And although the Centers for Disease Control indicates national HIV infection rates have declined, Black women are still disproportionately affected by the disease compared to their female counterparts (4,524 Black women diagnosed with HIV in 2015, compared to 1,131 Hispanic/Latino women and 1,431 White women).</div><div align="center" class="BasicParagraph" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="BasicParagraph"><b>Unsecured gains</b></div><div class="BasicParagraph">The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam has warned that any gains in Blacks’ desire for equity, greater freedom and greater equality of opportunity made during Pres. Obama’s eight-year tenure were not secure.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Rather, after eight years in office, the lullaby of what Mr. Obama represented is now leading to a rude awakening and White people are now lashing out because making “America Great Again” to many means Make America White Again,” said Min. Farrakhan.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“ ‘Bring back White Power, bring back this idea that no one is better than we and we are better than all.’&nbsp; So this wind will blow on Black people from every direction to force us to come to the realization that we cannot get along in peace with this people after giving them 400 years of our sweat and blood and receiving in return some of the worst treatment ever accorded to a human being.&nbsp; This is going to pick up with greater force, these winds, and so the bones will ultimately be forced to come together,” the Nation of Islam minister explained during a previous Final Call interview.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">Pres. Trump’s Department of Justice under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, has rolled back the use of federal consent decrees to check law enforcement misconduct in rogue police departments.&nbsp; And his 2017-18 budget slashed funding for Medicaid and social service programs, including food stamps and low-income housing.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><b></b><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="plead-for-help_10-17-2017.jpg" height="274" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/plead-for-help_10-17-2017.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Black suffering in America has been non-stop. Photo: istockphoto</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div align="center" class="BasicParagraph"><b><br style="clear: both;" /> Black beatings and deaths</b></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">During Pres. Obama’s tenure and even as Mr. Trump was campaigning for office, there was an uptick in beatings and justifiable homicides of Blacks by White vigilantes and police officers across the country, or as several activists pointed out, there was an increase in revelations about such incidents.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">“I believe that their intention was to push us until we went over the edge, to start what they wanted, which was called a race war,” said Harry “Spike” Moss, a long-time activist in Minnesota.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Essentially, White men, women and children began preparing themselves for a race war, which they knew they were going to create and wage through various assaults by right-wing organizations and from within police and sheriff’s departments, but they didn’t get that,” Mr. Moss told The Final Call.&nbsp;</div><div class="BasicParagraph">Blacks in America have been oppressed for 460 years and the negative impact of these experiences generation after generation runs deep in their spirit, soul, and intelligence, explained Mr. Moss.&nbsp; But, the Black community has run from good information and good leaders, and run to weak leaders, who weren’t saying strong things, he continued.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">The solution remains, Blacks need good teaching, need to respect the leadership willing to tell them the truth and, need to learn how to follow, Mr. Moss urged.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“Most of what the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan told us, he told us years ago!&nbsp; We are still not listening.&nbsp; He was clear years ago! … When we stopped listening to truth and moving on truth, then we would be right where we are,” the activist said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 150px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="dr-melina-abdullah_04-05-2016_1.jpg" height="219" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/dr-melina-abdullah_04-05-2016_1.jpg" width="150" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Dr. Melina Abdullah, chair of the Pan African Studies Department at California State University Los Angeles</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"> The reality is Blacks live under a predatory system, said activists and educators like Dr. Melina Abdullah, chair of the Pan African Studies Department at California State University Los Angeles, and an organizer with Black Lives Matter Los Angeles.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">“Living under the system of criminal justice that we do, living under the system of miseducation that we do, the existing capitalist structure, the economic system, all of it is meant to exploit and abuse us so with that comes Black suffering,” said Dr. Abdullah.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Her solution-oriented approach means finding beauty in the midst of the struggle, and peace amid Black suffering.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“As we’re working to dismantle a system that abuses, exploits, and harms us, we can find beauty in each other, beauty in the work, beauty in knowing that we are fulfilling our sacred duty to our ancestors and to our creator,” Dr. Abdullah stated.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">There is also fulfillment in Blacks going a step beyond trying to simply dismantle what is currently in place.&nbsp; It’s about envisioning and building the kind of world they want to live in, said Dr. Abdullah.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div align="center" class="BasicParagraph"><b>A Black political agenda</b></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Civil rights attorney Barbara Arnwine of the Transformative Justice Coalition said the current, biggest threat to Blacks is the erosion of their political power, caused by purposeful and deliberate acts by state governments and the Trump administration, especially through its Department of Justice and new Election Integrity Commission.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Attorney Arnwine recommends developing a serious political agenda to fight state laws that make it harder for Blacks to vote and to fight against false allegations of voter fraud, she recommended.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">“We don’t have reparations in this country.&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; Because African American political power isn’t organized to demand it.&nbsp; We have a tax on affirmative action. Why? Because we don’t have the political power in education and collectivism to protect it,” Atty. Arnwine said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">&nbsp;“It’s all about the policies that are undergirding everything in this country, from the food you eat, to the schools you go to, to whether or not somebody gets a loan or not to buy a home or a car, the regulations that determine what is safe on the road for a car or safe to be ingested as food … dirty streets, that is a reflection of the lack of skillful use of political power,” she added. </div><div class="BasicParagraph">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 150px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="Million-Family-March-National-Agenda.jpg" height="211" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/Million-Family-March-National-Agenda.jpg" width="150" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">Years ago, Min. Farrakhan introduced the Million Family March National Agenda, a plan of action which called in part for redistribution of tax dollars to better educate the American people, teach proper nutrition for better health, and to protect its citizenry through an enlightened, strong military force.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div align="center" class="BasicParagraph"><b>Best and only solution</b></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Black people around the U.S. and abroad are greatly anticipating Min. Farrakhan’s October 15 message, entitled, “Separation or Death,” in commemoration of the 22nd Anniversary of the Million Man March and Holy Day of Atonement. The Minister’s subject matter is taken right from what his teacher, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught. The message will be delivered in Newark, NJ.&nbsp;</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“We cannot be successful in the house of our enemies; we should be in our own house. That which is other than our own is for those who are other than our own. ‘Our Own’ is unlimited physically and spiritually,” wrote the Most Hon. Elijah Muhammad in his book, “Message to the Blackman.”</div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 150px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="messagetotheblackman_1.jpg" height="239" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/messagetotheblackman_1.jpg" width="150" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"> Shortly before Min. Farrakhan’s address, self-rule and self-governance demands in Spain once again made news. Catalonia, located in northeastern Spain, is still fighting for separation from that nation in order to form its own country.&nbsp; Reports indicated that 90 percent of the 2.26 million who voted in a recent referendum chose to separate from Spain.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">Separation would cause a problem for the European Union as other enclaves begin similar pushes, said Akbar Muhammad, International Representative of Min. Farrakhan. Min. Akbar Muhammad also noted the movement for independence for Puerto Rico.&nbsp; The island nation was granted U.S. citizenship in 1917 as a commonwealth or territory. Residents are American citizens and can elect their own governor, but are not permitted to vote in U.S. elections or independently engage in trade or international commerce with other nations.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">The latest in the debate over whether Puerto Rico should remain a U.S. territory, be granted statehood or be an independent nation came November 2012, when 65 percent of the U.S. island territory’s four million citizens voted in favor of becoming the 51st U.S. state.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">In the 1950s, despite lobbying, rebelling, and other tactics, the movement to become an independent country was crushed in that vote, Min. Akbar Muhammad said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“Now, they’ve got a clear signal that there are nearly 3.5 million on the island, but in the Diaspora, there’s another three million Puerto Ricans, and they have enough to form their own country, when you look at countries in the Caribbean who are independent,” he stated.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“To be in America, and abused by America, and to have a president that doesn’t really look at them as though they’re Americans is a prime example of why they should go on their own … This kind of movement will catch on,” Min. Akbar Muhammad added.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">When you come to the table unified, Min. Farrakhan recently stated, that is the power behind demand—unity.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Additional activities during the weekend of Holy Day of Atonement include: The Newark Youth Ambassadors hosting their second annual youth forum titled, “Are You Ready?” on Saturday, Oct. 14 from noon to 4 p.m. and Family Fun Day with activities, fun, food and entertainment at from noon to 5 p.m. at Newark Central High School. For more information call Muhammad Mosque No. 25 in Newark, (973) 624-5532.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Min. Farrakhan’s timely message, “Separation or Death” on Oct. 15 will be broadcast live from Symphony Hall at 1020 Broad St.&nbsp; in Newark, New Jersey. Doors open at noon and the program begins at 2 p.m. The message will be also broadcast live via webcast at <em><a href="https://www.noi.org/webcast/">NOI.org/webcast</a></em>.<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-10354220272920754722017-10-03T11:05:00.001-07:002017-10-03T11:05:18.019-07:00<h2>Las Vegas shooting—the latest in deadly, unstoppable violence in U.S.</h2><small>By <a href="http://www.twitter.com/sischarlene">Charlene Muhammad</a> -National Correspondent- | Last updated: Oct 3, 2017 - 12:33:49 PM</small><br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="https://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </h3><a href="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" target="_blank"> What's your opinion on this article?</a><br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="las-vegas-massacre_10-10-2017b.jpg" height="361" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/las-vegas-massacre_10-10-2017b.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Debris is strewn through the scene of a mass shooting at a music festival near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Oct. 2, in Las Vegas. Photo: AP/Wide World Photo</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /> Terror has struck again on American soil in the form of a White, male shooter identified by law enforcement as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, who allegedly opened fire and killed 58 and injured 515 at a country music concert in Nevada at press time. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="las-vegas-massacre_10-10-2017.jpg" height="200" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/las-vegas-massacre_10-10-2017.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Multiple victims were transported to hospitals after a shooting late Oct. 1 at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. At about 11 p.m., dozens of patrol vehicles descended on the Strip after authorities received reports of an active shooter near the Route 91 Harvest Festival.<br /><br />Some officers took cover behind their vehicles while others carrying assault rifles ran into the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.<br /><br />Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo reported Mr. Paddock, an accountant from Nevada, killed himself. Police recovered at least 17 guns and explosives from his room.<br /><br />Witnesses say country singer Jason Aldean was performing near the end of the concert when gunfire rang out. Concert-goers reported seeing muzzle flashes from the upper floors of the Mandalay Bay Hotel-Casino across Las Vegas Boulevard and the sound of what they described as automatic gun fire.<br /><br />Thirty-six-year-old Kodiak Yazzie said the music stopped temporarily and started up again before another round of pops sent the performers ducking for cover and fleeing the stage.<br />As the tens of thousands of fans in the crowd began to flee, he took cover and said he saw flashes of light coming from the Mandalay Bay hotel tower high above.<br /><br />The bursts of pops would start and stop for more than five minutes. He says he saw dozens of ambulances as he ran for safety.<br /><br /><strong>Continued violence in America</strong><br />Mr. Paddock’s Oct. 1 assault stunned a nation unable to stop deadly violence, begging the question, what is happening inside the United States? The Las Vegas tragedy is now considered the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history eclipsing the Orlando night club massacre last year.<br /><br />“What’s striking about the United States is that this week, the move towards having some sort of gun control has already been swift,” said Dr. Gerald Horne, Moore’s Professor of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston.<br /><br />At least that’s the way it appears, which is extraordinary given the fact that the now-deceased suspect apparently had several automatic weapons that he was able to bring into a hotel room in a major urban center, Dr. Horne said.<br /><br />“This attempt to squash any conversation about gun control stands oddly in juxtaposition with what happened in 1967, when the Black Panther Party walked into the California State Assembly in Sacramento, with weapons, which led even the National Rifle Association, the gun lobby, to call for gun control,” Dr. Horne told The Final Call.<br /><br />He continued, it’s apparent that gun control has a particular purpose: “The White Right, the Alt Right as it now terms itself, has made it clear that it doesn’t believe in gun control, because it wants to execute an armed uprising in case there is a government not to its liking.” <br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="las-vegas-massacre_10-10-2017e.jpg" height="355" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/las-vegas-massacre_10-10-2017e.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">People are searched by Las Vegas police at the Tropicana Las Vegas during an active shooter situation on the Las Vegas Strip on Sunday, Oct. 1. Photo: AP/Wide World Photo</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /><strong></strong>For many, the Vegas massacre like others creates an initial shock, said Los Angeles-based social justice and political activist Greg Akili. Then reality sets in that they live in a violent culture focused on protecting and promoting guns, which produces mass shootings as a consequence, he said.<br /><br />“We’ve seen it over, and over, and over again. The gun culture is popular. It’s protected. And it’s prevalent in America,” Mr. Akili told The Final Call.<br /><br />As usual, he continued, people will grieve for the families of those killed, but as long as the culture promoting and accepting of gun violence remains, another shooting and killing more people is inevitable. Still, people seem unwilling to come to grips with that and do something about it, he stated.<br /><br />“Look here! Twenty children were killed (in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre) and we still supported and were unwilling to do anything about gun culture in America, so we are just willing to accept the level of violence and death that gun violence brings. That’s America!”<br /><br /><strong>A nation in mourning</strong><br />“I’m quite saddened by the tragic killing in Las Vegas and every time a person’s life is lost. What we need to look into is the regulations in Las Vegas, Nevada. The laws that will allow a person to have ten guns on their person and don’t have to have a permit. And no mental health background check. Something is wrong with that,” said Missouri State Senator Maria Chappelle- Nadal.<br /><br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="las-vegas-massacre_10-10-2017c.jpg" height="269" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/las-vegas-massacre_10-10-2017c.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Police officers and first responders at the scene of the mass shooting in Las Vegas.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>“I feel that instead of concentrating on external terrorists and building a wall to keep people out, we have home grown terrorists that we need to pay attention to,” she said. “It hurts when a life is taken because every single life is important,” Sen. Chappelle- Nadal continued.<br /><br /><br />President Donald Trump offered words of comfort to the families of the victims. He called the shooting an act of pure evil. “We are joined together today in sadness, shock and grief,” Pres. Trump said.<br /><br />“Hundreds of our fellow citizens are now mourning the sudden loss of a loved one, a parent, a child, a brother or sister,” he said. “We cannot fathom their pain; we cannot imagine their loss. To the families of the victims, we are praying for you, and we are here for you and we ask God to help see you through this very dark period,” he added.<br /><br />“Our unity cannot be shattered by evil. Our bonds cannot be broken by violence. And though we feel such great anger at the senseless murder of our fellow citizens it is our love that defines us today and always will, forever.”<br /><br /><strong>‘White male lone wolf’ syndrome</strong><br />With the death toll and injury count still climbing, authorities announced beliefs that Mr. Paddock acted alone.<br /><br />Police questioned 62-year-old Marilou Danley, a female companion, initially considered a person of interest.<br /><br />Police have not yet determined a motive in the shootings, but have ruled out connections with any terrorist group. This after reports indicated ISIS claimed responsibility.<br /><br />“We have seen all those so-called lone wolves before. We saw ’em at Columbine, at Sandy Hook and they are considered lone wolves and in fact they are not lone wolves,” argued Mr. Akili.<br /><br />Some of the other more deadliest mass shootings in the U.S. where suspects were lone, White males include: July 20, 2012 inside a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado resulting in 12 fatalities and January 8, 2011 in Tucson, Ariz. that resulted in six fatalities and the severe wounding of former U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords.<br /><br />“I know this feeling of heartbreak and horror too well,” Ms. Giffords stated in the aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting. “The massacre in Las Vegas is a grave tragedy for our nation. This must stop—we must stop this,” she added. Ms. Giffords and others have been pushing for stricter gun laws.<br /><br />“I am praying for the victims of this shooting, their families and friends. But I am praying for my former colleagues, too. I am praying they find the courage it will take to make progress on the challenging issue of gun violence,” she said at a press conference. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="las-vegas-massacre_10-10-2017d.jpg" height="235" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/las-vegas-massacre_10-10-2017d.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Reed Broschart, center, hugs his girlfriend Aria James on the Las Vegas Strip in the aftermath of a mass shooting at a concert, Oct. 2, in Las Vegas. The couple, both of Ventura, Calif., attended the concert.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />But what if anything will change remains to be seen and many are not optimistic anything substantive will change at all when it comes to America’s obsessive gun culture.<br />“They live in a society that supports what they’re thinking, and it’s certainly been supported in these last few months with this current president, so we live in a society where their thinking is promoted. Their ideas are accepted, and their actions are tolerable,” Mr. Akili added.<br /><br />Dr. Horne found it very curious that some commentators suggested the incident was not “an act of terrorism.<br /><br />“I’m not sure how they’re arriving at that conclusion. I’m not sure how they’re defining ‘terrorism.’ It’s a very curious circumstance, and in any case, it also all comes back to gun control, the fact that weapons of this sort are all too easy to obtain by people who obviously do not need to have weapons,” he stated.<br /><br /><strong>A way forward?</strong><br />Moving forward means understanding that massacres keep happening in the first place, because America is dealing with symptoms and not root causes, said Aquil Basheer, author, a top specialist in street violence intervention and hostility based-gang aggression, and founder of the Professional Community Intervention Institute.<br /><br />“The biggest problem in America has never been external or international terrorism. It’s always been domestic terrorism, and they’ve never admitted to that fact. … Why are we not calling this a blatant act of domestic terrorism?” Mr. Basheer told The Final Call.<br /><br />“Why are we not putting a direct profile of the domestic terrorist, in this case which was a White male,” which has been the most instrumental in using domestic terrorism, he argued.<br />When that’s ignored, profile developments are missed, which leaves people unprepared to deal with pending threats.<br /><br />“We’re ignoring the fact of who the actual aggressor is. We don’t want to admit to that in this country, so therefore, people are not able to create in their mindset a vision of what I must prepare for. … Violence leaves a road map. Violence leaves a trail. Violence always lets you know it’s getting ready to happen,” said Mr. Basheer.<br /><br /><em>(The Associated Press and J.A. Salaam contributed to this report.)</em><br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN -->&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></h3>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-27500031744534978562017-09-30T05:42:00.001-07:002017-09-30T05:42:36.941-07:00<h2>Boycotts, Black Athletes And Activism</h2><small>By <a href="http://www.twitter.com/MrCraw4D">Bryan Crawford</a> -Contributing Writer- | Last updated: Sep 26, 2017 - 12:44:27 PM</small><br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="https://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </h3><a href="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" target="_blank"> What's your opinion on this article?</a><br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="philly-eagles_10-03-2017.jpg" height="350" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/philly-eagles_10-03-2017.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Philadelphia Eagles players, owner Jeffrey Lurie, center right, Eagles' President Don Smolenski, second from left, and a Philadelphia police officer, third from left, stand for the national anthem before an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sept. 24, in Philadelphia. Eagles' Malcolm Jenkins raises his fist next to Lurie. Photos: AP/Wide World photos</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="nola-saints_buffalo-bills_10-03-2017.jpg" height="188" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/nola-saints_buffalo-bills_10-03-2017.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(L) New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandon Coleman kneels in protest during the National Anthem. (R) Buffalo Bills players take a knee during the National Anthem in protest.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /><strong><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Protecting rights or profits? NFL owners on bended knee</em></span></strong><br /><br />Generally speaking, sports are seen as apolitical. Certainly, professional athletes and team owners have their own individual views and embrace political ideologies that don’t always align, but both parties can usually find a common goal in their desire to compete and win for their organizations, cities and fans.<br /><br />Since being elected president, it’s become almost a weekly occurrence that Donald Trump says something that is attention grabbing that gets people talking. Mr. Trump has a knack—and a penchant—for getting under people’s skin with his abrasive rhetoric that has driven the wedge in the relationship between Black and White people in America, even deeper. <br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="trump-tweet_10-03-2017a.jpg" height="237" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/trump-tweet_10-03-2017a.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /> Since taking a knee during the National Anthem more than a year ago, Colin Kaepernick has consistently been on the radar of Donald Trump, and even more so now that athletes in the NFL, and in other sports leagues, have begun taking a knee in support of the movement started by Mr. Kaepernick. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 100px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="nfl_1.jpg" height="105" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/nfl_1.jpg" width="100" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />At a September reelection rally for Alabama Senator Luther Strange, Mr. Trump took another shot at Mr. Kaepernick, and others, in front of an all-White audience that seemed to hang on his every word.<br /><br />“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son-of-a-bitch off the field right now, out, he’s fired!’ ” Mr. Trump said to rousing applause. “You know, some owner is going to do that. He’s gonna say, ‘That guy disrespects our flag, he’s fired.’ And that owner, they don’t know it. They don’t know it. They’re friends of mine, many of them. They don’t know it. They’ll be the most popular person, for a week. They’ll be the most popular person in the country.” <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 300px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="mike-tolbertt_10-03-2017.jpg" height="337" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/mike-tolbertt_10-03-2017.jpg" width="300" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Buffalo Bills fullback Mike Tolbert leaves the field after working out prior to an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sept. 24, in Orchard Park, N.Y.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The very next day, in a series of tweets, Mr. Trump attacked Stephen Curry, star of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors basketball team. It is customary, after a team wins a championship, to visit the White House and deliver a personalized jersey to the sitting president. However, Mr. Curry has publicly stated on several occasions that because he does not agree with the politics of Donald Trump, causing the president to rescind the invitation via Twitter—the very same day that as a team, the Warriors were planning to discuss whether or not they wanted to make the trip.<br />Both incidents created an uproar within the sports world—as well as the White House recently calling for the firing of Black female ESPN sports personality Jemele Hill for tweets calling Mr. Trump a White supremacist.<br /><br />But the president’s Alabama tirade seemed to ignite special, widespread criticism, a call for solidarity with players under the hashtag #TakeTheKnee. <br /><br />Despite outward shows of togetherness, the question must be asked: What are we showing solidarity for? NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, in a statement regarding Mr. Trump’s comments, called them “divisive.” <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 348px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="trump-tweet_10-03-2017b.jpg" height="150" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/trump-tweet_10-03-2017b.jpg" width="348" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>The Pittsburgh Steelers, coached by Mike Tomlin, a Black man, stayed in the locker room while the National Anthem was being sung prior to their game against the Chicago Bears. Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins, locked arms with his players on the sidelines on Sunday as a show of support. The irony here was 28 of the NFL’s 32 owners, all donated money to the Trump campaign, including Mr. Snyder who gave $1 million initially, and another $100,000 after Mr. Trump won.<br /><br /><br />DeMaurice Smith, the Black executive director of the NFL Players Union, said, “This union will never back down when it comes to protecting the constitutional rights of our players as citizens, as well as their safety as men who compete in a game that exposes them to great risks.” <br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="new-england-patriots_10-03-2017.jpg" height="273" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/new-england-patriots_10-03-2017.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Several New England Patriots players kneel during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sept. 24, in Foxborough, Mass. Photos: AP/Wide World photos</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="seattle-seahawks_10-03-2017.jpg" height="497" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/seattle-seahawks_10-03-2017.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Seatlle Seahawks tweet statement from the team president.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /> Still, neither statement from Mr. Goodell, Mr. Smith, or the action by Mr. Snyder, even begins to address the “great risks” that Black men and women—who aren’t celebrities or famous athletes—face daily from the police, and the dog whistle political statements that served as inspiration for White groups to publicly assemble in Charlottesville, Va., not long ago. President Trump was very careful not to ostracize neo-Nazis and White rightest in Charlottesville by implying that not all of them were bad people, but he called athletes protesting Black oppression, SOBs.<br /><br /><br />“What a hypocrisy we live in,” said New York attorney and activist Kenneth Montgomery. “Black people being oppressed and shot at the hands of the state is just the tip of the iceberg concerning our continued social, political and economic alienation. It seems like the U-S-of-A has no place for us unless we are dead, incarcerated, cooning for acceptance or entertaining [White people].” <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="jay-ajayi_10-03-2017.jpg" height="251" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/jay-ajayi_10-03-2017.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Miami Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi warms up in a #imwithkap shirt before an NFL football game against the New York Jets on Sept. 24, in East Rutherford, N.J. Photo: AP/ Wide World photos</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Mr. Montgomery also told The Final Call, “This whole thing has become a spectacle. Colin Kaepernick kneeled to protest Black oppression. Now it’s being usurped by the very owners who blackballed him. Many of these athletes, and the owners, are actually protecting the NFL shield. They don’t give a damn about systemic oppression affecting Black people.”<br /><br />Activist Tamika Mallory has one word to describe NFL owners taking a knee: “Disingenuous.”<br /><br />“The reason why the protest started cannot be ignored,” she said. “It cannot be that you separate Colin Kaepernick taking a kneel during the National Anthem to protest police brutality and other injustices happening to Black and Brown people, if the owners weren’t willing to kneel with him … to stand up against Trump is disingenuous to me.”<br /><br />The owners don’t want to upset 70 percent of their players who are Black men, she continued. The activist added, the NFL owners’ statements and others have nothing to do with the original reason for the protests.<br /><br />What the president said was outrageous but it’s in line with who he is, and was unsurprising, Ms. Mallory observed. The issue isn’t Mr. Trump or the National Anthem but “the idea that Black lives don’t matter in America,” she said. And, Ms. Mallory continued, the point of the Kaepernick protests was not everyone was enjoying life in the land of the free and home of the brave as touted by the anthem—which has never represented freedom for Blacks and people of color.<br /><br />“They want to shift the conversation,” she said.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br />Ms. Mallory has also not heard from the NFL following a protest outside NFL headquarters in New York. The New York Justice League, which includes Ms. Mallory, led the successful “United We Stand: Rally for Kaepernick.” <br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="issa-rai_10-03-2017.jpg" height="468" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/issa-rai_10-03-2017.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Reaction to the NFL player protests dominated social media.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /> During the rally, the activists called on the NFL to have a written policy that protects the right to player protests without retaliation, to have internal and external committees look at diversity, cultural sensitivity among a league with nearly all-White ownership and whether people of color were disinterested in ownership or locked out by a good ole boys network.<br /><br /><br />And while scholarships from the NFL are great, the league was called to join those addressing the school to prison pipeline, said Ms. Mallory.<br /><br />And, she added, four years ago, she sat across the table from Mr. Goodell as Black women sought to have the league deal with the problem of domestic violence. There were also questions about where the NFL disperses $100 million to charity and whether some of the funding could go to addressing domestic violence and other violence in the Black community, Ms. Mallory said.<br /><br />Perhaps, if the league had followed up and dealt with those issues as well as diversity and racial sensitivity, things would be at a different place, she added.<br /><br />She also thanks an unlikely source for much of the renewed activism: Donald Trump.<br />“Trump is so unhinged that he basically is speaking to the private conversations that all these folks are having and their private thoughts,” Ms. Mallory explained.<br /><br />Now people, including once-silent athletes, feel compelled to speak up or lose everything, she said. It’s uncomfortable, even scary, but it’s an opportunity, the activist noted.<br /><br />Making public statements, not watching games, not purchasing paraphernalia or spending money with the NFL, using social media activism, and collectively keeping conversations alive have an impact, she said.<br /><br />“It’s the beauty of Donald Trump being president,” she said. “We have been having these conversations.” <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="david-banner_tweet_10-03-2017.jpg" height="141" src="https://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/david-banner_tweet_10-03-2017.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Rapper and activist David Banner has been very outspoken during the campaign and eventual election of Donald Trump. He argues Black folk should go even further. “The NFL has shown Black people that they don’t care about the death of our children. Why would we ever want to feed that machine our money and our support again?” Mr. Banner told The Final Call. “We need to leave people alone who don’t love us,” he said.<br /><i>(Final Call staff contributed to this report.)</i><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-28190400955688014682017-09-19T15:41:00.001-07:002017-09-19T15:41:18.833-07:00From The Final Call Newspaper<h2>A Proper Sendoff And Fitting Farewell To 'Baba' Dick Gregory</h2><small>By <a href="http://www.twitter.com/askiaphotojourn">Askia Muhammad</a> -Senior Editor- | Last updated: Sep 19, 2017 - 6:27:00 PM</small><br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </h3><a href="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" target="_blank"> What's your opinion on this article?</a><br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="dick-gregory_tribute_09-26-2017.jpg" height="260" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/dick-gregory_tribute_09-26-2017.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /><b>LANDOVER, Md.—</b>Dick Gregory was a comedian, but he was so much more. He was a civil rights leader, but he was so much more than that. He was a health advocate, and more. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="dick-gregory_09-26-2017.jpg" height="268" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/dick-gregory_09-26-2017.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>The many facets of Dick Gregory’s amazing 84-year-life were celebrated and praised over three days Sept. 15-17, with a funeral and a New Orleans-style “Second Line” parade by his family and a long list of celebrities including Stevie Wonder, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, comedian Bill Cosby, singer India Arie, and actor Joe Morton in attendance, along with political leaders, clergy members, human rights activists, and broadcasting personalities.<br /><br /><br />“We thank him for a life of sacrifice,” Mr. Gregory’s son Christian told the funeral at the City of Praise Family Ministries in suburban Landover, Md. “While we celebrate his life, we also acknowledge all of the suffering, all of the pain, and all of the glory.<br /><br />“Obviously, losing a loved one is never easy, especially when that loved one is an absolute warrior, father, friend and husband. Everyone kind of feels like they lost their ‘Baba.’” Mr. Gregory continued using the affectionate Swahili word “Baba,” a title meaning “brother,” or&nbsp; “father” which has been attached as an honorific to Mr. Gregory’s name for several years. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="dick-gregory_tribute_09-26-2017b.jpg" height="230" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/dick-gregory_tribute_09-26-2017b.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Audience at homegoing services for Dick Gregory.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="dick-gregory_tribute_09-26-2017c.jpg" height="374" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/dick-gregory_tribute_09-26-2017c.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>“The amount of folks that have walked up to me, and without even saying anything, just crying and embracing me. And I just look at them and quickly realize that they realize, despite the fact&nbsp; I have no earthly idea who they are, they know who I am. And I’m not conceited enough to think that that’s because they think I’m an amazing chiropractor, I’m crytstal clear, it’s because they realize who my father is … and who my mother is,” Christian Gregory said, predicting that the evening would amount to a proper send-off for “a legend.”<br /><br /><br />“Mr. Gregory had many titles: funny man, social activist, trail blazer, civil rights leader, health advocate, and author,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said at the funeral. “But it seemed that the title he relished the most was truth teller.”<br /><br />“In the movement, we used to cry, and shout, and roar against racism,” D. C. Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton said. “Dick did us one better. He made racism look absurd. With his brilliant, crossover talent, Dick even made White folks laugh at their own racism.” Mrs. Norton and Mr. Gregory were involved together in many civil rights and voting rights campaigns, up to and including the anti-apartheid movement in the 1980s.<br /><br />“He applied his direct, straight forward approach to life, to everything that he did,” said Mayor Bowser. “On the comedy circuit, he fused humor with plain talk. On the campaign trail, he spoke out against police brutality, and spoke up for criminal justice reform and for resources for substance abuse. And on marches for civil rights he gathered with countless others in defiance of segregation and in support of voting rights,” she said.<br /><br />Like others, Mayor Bowser embraced Mr. Gregory in Washington, not his original hometown. “Here in D.C. we adopted Mr. Gregory as our very own. We loved him, and he loved us back.” <br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="dick-gregory_tribute_09-26-2017d.jpg" height="251" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/dick-gregory_tribute_09-26-2017d.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Casket of Dick Gregory during services held Sept. 16 at City of Praise Ministries. Photos: Final X</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="dick-gregory_tribute_09-26-2017e.jpg" height="275" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/dick-gregory_tribute_09-26-2017e.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Choir sings a musical selection.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /> The three-day celebration of his life included a viewing at the Louis Stokes Medical Library on the campus of Howard University, the funeral, and a final parade from the historic Howard Theatre on U Street, where Mr. Gregory performed often as a stand-up comedian during his 55-year stage career, to the iconic Ben’s Chili Bowl several blocks away where a new mural on its wall, depicting legendary D.C. icons, including Mr. Gregory was unveiled last month.<br /><br /><br />The 6-hour-long funeral—was necessarily long according to the Rev. Willie Wilson of Union Temple Baptist Church, because, “you can’t have a short celebration for a tall man.” <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="dick-gregory_tribute_09-26-2017f.jpg" height="236" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/dick-gregory_tribute_09-26-2017f.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Many were moved by the various tributes.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="dick-gregory_tribute_09-26-2017g.jpg" height="233" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/dick-gregory_tribute_09-26-2017g.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Dr. Leonard Jeffries (right) attended services.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The service included remarks by the children of Brother Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers, and Richard Pryor; a musical tribute by Mr. Gregory’s daughter Ayanna; a musical tribute by India&nbsp;Arie; remarks by the Rev. William Barber; a performance by Joe Morton from the one-man stage play ‘Turn Me Loose’ which depicts Mr. Gregory’s life; powerful words from Mr. Gregory’s family members; and remarks by former Congressional Black Caucus Chair, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.).<br /><br />All were gathered “to hear about the funny man, the straight man, who impacted our minds and impacted our hearts,” Reena Evers-Everette, the daughter of slain Civil Rights activist Medgar Evers said at the funeral.<br /><br />“He gave up a fortune to help Black people, what are you going to do?” Rep. Waters asked the audience. “Don’t come here today and say how much you love him and go to work tomorrow and skin and grin. It’s time for us to have courage to do what we need to do. Now is the time for us to have courage.”<br /><br />“I wish I could sit and talk with Dick because I have work to do,” she continued, declaring that Mr. Gregory had liberated her, and that she has now “taken off the gloves,” and would spend the rest of her career fulfilling a mission. “Because I’m cleaning out the White House. I’m going to sanitize the White House,” she said.&nbsp; Mr. Gregory was even a friend of Mrs. Waters’ mother in their original hometown St. Louis.<br /><br />She also commended embattled comedian Bill Cosby, who was in attendance with his wife Camille. “I want to thank Bill and Camille Cosby,” Rep. Waters said to sustained applause. “Bill and Camille Cosby, they sent a tree that we planted for my mother, and that tree is flourishing on the lawn of the Gateway Center. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m a politician. I’m not supposed to thank Bill and Camille Cosby. A friend in need is a friend indeed, and if you can’t stand with your friends when they need you, then you’re not worth your salt.” <br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="dick-gregory_tribute_09-26-2017h.jpg" height="233" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/dick-gregory_tribute_09-26-2017h.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Representatives from the Native American community paid tribute to Mr. Gregory. (R) Women applaud during program.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="dick-gregory_tribute_09-26-2017i.jpg" height="288" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/dick-gregory_tribute_09-26-2017i.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Bill and Camille Cosby (far right) in audience at Mr. Gregory's services in Landover, Maryland.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /> Dick Gregory imparted a deep spirituality, many speakers noted, although he was not at all a religiously bound person. He never professed to belong to any church, any mosque, or any synagogue. He was rooted to the boundless, universal God-force, according to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.<br /><br /><br />The biblical Jesus set out to “unite the whole of humanity into oneness with God, oneness with each other, and one community,” said Min. Farrakhan. “God ain’t bugged out by color. That’s the sickness of White supremacy, and it has nothing to do with Jesus.”<br /><br />Mr. Gregory understood and applied his study to the “root of knowledge,” enabling him to “connect with all the branches,” Min. Farrakhan continued.<br /><br />We are taught that we would be “one in Christ. Problem is, you’re not in him yet. That’s why Dick couldn’t join you. ‘Cause he’s trying to be one, not with religion, but one with the Universal King, the One God, Who created it all.”<br /><br />“Faith produces works,” the Muslim leader said. “That was a man of faith. His faith made him, one of the greatest men of our time.”<br /><br />The funeral concluded with a tribute concert by Stevie Wonder, joined on stage by Ayanna Gregory, daughter of Dick Gregory. “I am thankful for having lived in the time of Dick Gregory,” Mr. Wonder said before his performance. “All of my songs from 1999 until now are because Dick Gregory saved my life.”<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-57934660257975778452017-09-05T09:30:00.002-07:002017-09-05T09:58:51.117-07:00Rockford man continues struggle to clear his name<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">by William P. Muhammad</span></b><br /><br /><br /><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px 0px 11px; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Rockford, Ill.</span></b><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">– Before the backdrop of 1990s policing strategies, the stereotyping and targeting of young Black Americans, and the impact of mass incarceration upon entire communities, the inevitability of local abuse converged with the arrest, first degree murder conviction, and now a scheduled retrial of Patrick Pursley, recently freed through his decades long persistence to expose a hidden truth, revealed the wide-ranging impact of racialized politics on local prosecutions and the general targeting of Black youth in the American criminal justice system.</span></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px 0px 11px; text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fxR9-RFP2DU/Wa7PHdESoYI/AAAAAAAAF2s/gkl3kYz3yPYrGPhVFLmS7PcxXptN5UaqACLcBGAs/s1600/Patrick%2BPursely%2Band%2Bdaughter.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fxR9-RFP2DU/Wa7PHdESoYI/AAAAAAAAF2s/gkl3kYz3yPYrGPhVFLmS7PcxXptN5UaqACLcBGAs/s320/Patrick%2BPursely%2Band%2Bdaughter.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patrick Pursley and daughter Nija</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>“I was locked up on this case in 1993 and I was gone 23 years,” Mr. Pursley said during an interview in his Rockford apartment. “There was what you call a quantum body of evidence that was either ignored, buried or neglected by the state’s attorney and with the ballistic photos, I basically generated my own evidence (and) I demanded that my lawyers get me a ballistic expert, and from that point on, that is what really saved my neck,” the now 51-year-old Mr. Pursley said.</span></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px 0px 11px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Explaining that it took nearly two and a half decades to seek answers alleging misconduct, if not an overzealous rush to judgment on the part of investigators and the prosecution, help from organizations such as Northwestern University’s Center on Wrongful Convictions was vital in helping to argue his innocence and to present evidence for a retrial while adding that thinking of his children was the motivating force behind keeping up his fight for freedom. </span></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px 0px 11px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>“The appellate court said we can’t grant you gun testing because the law doesn’t allow for it, the law only allows for DNA testing, so I set out to get the law amended and filed a suit against various governing officials,” Mr. Pursley said. “The same way you allow for DNA testing to establish actual innocence in a post-conviction petition, you should allow for gun testing and other forms of forensic testing,” he explained, while pointing out the names, supporters and organizations that took his ideas on forensic testing, published in the Statesville Speaks prison newsletter, and made into a bill for the state legislature that was signed into law on October 27th, 2007. </span></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px 0px 11px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Throughout the ups and downs of what would become an arduous 23-year battle to free himself from the nightmare of what Mr. Pursley called a wrongful life-without-parole prison sentence, family members likewise suffered in ways hidden from public view, deeply affecting them from childhood through adolescence and into adulthood.</span></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px 0px 11px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Describing the difficulties of growing up without knowledge of her biological father and her need to have completion regarding her identity as a young person, Nija Pursley said she always felt different and out of place. “It is surreal and like something out of a movie that you don’t really imagine,” she said. “My mom kept it from me that he was my biological father until I was 11-years-old, so I didn’t really know anything about him until about 12 years ago, and I’m 23 right now,” Ms. Pursley said. </span></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px 0px 11px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>With the advent of what Michelle Alexander identified in her landmark book, “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness in 2010,” and what is popularly labeled by activists as the ‘Prison Industrial Complex,’ Clinton Era policies of the 1990s, coupled with state and federal cuts to the social safety net, hamstrung entire communities and led to the scapegoating, targeting and overzealous policing and prosecution of primarily young Black men in nearly every municipality across the country. </span></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px 0px 11px; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CX7dF_H6_i0/Wa7PwLq6viI/AAAAAAAAF20/ErQWXNadJRwllV4vxgV4ymAhiauVscIKQCLcBGAs/s1600/NWU%2Blogo.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="225" height="198" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CX7dF_H6_i0/Wa7PwLq6viI/AAAAAAAAF20/ErQWXNadJRwllV4vxgV4ymAhiauVscIKQCLcBGAs/s200/NWU%2Blogo.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>“When law enforcement is abusive or perceived as abusive, then the problems effect society in ways anticipated and unanticipated, and I think can result in a breakdown of law enforcement’s ability to protect the citizens that they are tasked with protecting,” said Professor Karen Daniel, Director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law in a telephone interview. “If there is a perception that they are abusing their citizens, or that they’re not trustworthy, then they won’t be trusted by the citizens and they won’t be able to solve crimes or prevent crimes and, to me, that is what we see happening in a lot of major metropolitan areas in our country,” she said.</span></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px 0px 11px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Concerning the role of The Center on Wrongful Convictions, in addressing issues of bias or wrongdoing within the criminal justice system, Professor Daniel said that Northwestern University’s program is only one of many organizations trying to shine a light on such problems and as an institution, she sees it working both to vindicate individuals such as Mr. Pursley and to bring attention to the importance of truth in the courts. </span></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px 0px 11px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">“There are big questions that society is grappling with right now; mass incarceration, racism in the system, and our issue is primarily accuracy in the system,” Professor Daniel noted. “Sometimes, as the result of lawsuits that follow wrongful convictions, further information is brought to light about what led to the wrongful conviction in the first place,” she said.</span></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px 0px 11px; text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: right;"></div><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QNHJAxTQ15k/Wa7Xp-bwy4I/AAAAAAAAF3I/KE43yKWAODwkp7V-xXGI_o93PbGSmO0hgCLcBGAs/s1600/Version%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="147" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QNHJAxTQ15k/Wa7Xp-bwy4I/AAAAAAAAF3I/KE43yKWAODwkp7V-xXGI_o93PbGSmO0hgCLcBGAs/s1600/Version%2B2.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Regarding legislative initiatives and proposals designed to address disparities and injustices within the Illinois criminal justice system, Dr. Litesa Wallace, State Representative of Illinois’ 67th District and a member of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, said that Illinois became one of the first states in the nation to implement policing reforms to address practices such as stop-and-frisk, racial profiling and other practices negatively affecting police-community relations.</span></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px 0px 11px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">“We did get these policing reform bills signed, that were signed by Governor Rauner, after the <span style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Legislative Black Caucus led the charge, in 2016, and then recently, we supported legislation to give what’s known as a Certificate of Innocence, so that individuals are able to access the resources necessary (to recover) from a wrongful conviction. We have to be intentional about creating policies that heal communities and to make them whole,” State Representative Wallace said.</span></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px 0px 11px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Student Minister Yahcolyah Muhammad, of The Nation of Islam Rockford Study Group, said the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan said that injustice at the hands of government destroys the fabric of society because those sworn to uphold justice and law are seen as failing to perform their duty. “Anytime someone is wrongly convicted, it can destroy or tear away at one’s belief or confidence in the justice system,” the Student Minister said. “This is why there is protest, this is why there is an upheaval, and this is why there is a lack of confidence in the justice system of America.” he said. </span></div>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-44767031445102062192017-08-29T13:15:00.000-07:002017-08-29T13:15:11.345-07:00From The Final Call Newspaper<h2>Torrential rains decimate Texas</h2><small>By Richard B. Muhammad and Charlene Muhammad -Final Call Staffers- | Last updated: Aug 29, 2017 - 1:37:51 PM</small><br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </h3><a href="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" target="_blank"> What's your opinion on this article?</a><br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hurricane-harvey_09-05-2017a.jpg" height="120" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hurricane-harvey_09-05-2017a.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(L) Melani Zurawski cries while inspecting her home in Port Aransas, Texas, on, Aug. 27 (R) Terranysha Ferguson holds her son, Christian Phillips as she sits with the rest of her family at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"><br style="clear: both;" /> Hurricane Harvey unleashed unprecedented rain, causing massive damage in just a three-day span, but the worst was yet to come for Lone Star State.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">The terrible Texas storm system began as a tropical wave east of Barbados in the Caribbean gathered strength in the southern area of the Gulf of Mexico and then it struck.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hurricane-harvey_09-05-2017b.jpg" height="506" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hurricane-harvey_09-05-2017b.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Friends Franklin Halloween, 16, left, and Deleon Gambel, 14, fight the current from the overflow of Buffalo Bayou as they make their way through floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey while checking on neighbors in their apartment complex in Houston, Texas, Aug. 27. (Bottom) A flooded residential neighborhood in Southeast Houston, TX. Photo: MGN Online</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"> It stalled over Houston for about 24 hours as a Category 3 Hurricane before hitting landfall, and then Aug. 25, Harvey was upgraded to a Category 4 and pummeled the city of Rockport, Texas with 130 mph winds.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">Eight people died, according to reports, as Harvey dumped trillions of gallons of rain on Houston and other parts of the state and region. Meteorologists predicted rainfall would reach 50 inches or higher at Final Call presstime.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“You have to keep in mind that flooding is not abnormal in the Houston area, but this storm lingered over this area for so long that it spawned tornadoes that impacted parts of Missouri City and the surrounding areas, and the flooding that came, dropping gallons and gallons of rain,” said Jeffrey Boney, councilman-elect of Missouri City, Texas’ District B and associate editor of the Houston Forward Times.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">In three days, Houston received the amount of rain it typically gets in a year and Harvey visited Austin, San Antonio, Central Texas, and moved further northeast and to the east, he stated.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“It was surreal in a couple of instances, just thinking about where do you go?&nbsp; But you have no other place to go but back home and sit put and wait it out and pray and hope for the best,” Mr. Boney told The Final Call.&nbsp;</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“What makes this unprecedented is that it is not a 100 year, 500 year, but a 1,000-year flood event, which is to say that it is unprecedented because it goes beyond any records that have been measured in modern times,” said Dr. Abdul Haleem Muhammad, an urban planner, environmental consultant, and Nation of Islam student minister for the Southwest Region. He is based in Houston.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Harvey’s devastating floods poured into the nation’s fourth-largest city and rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground and overwhelmed rescuers who could not keep up with the constant calls for help. </div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hurricane-harvey_09-05-2017c.jpg" height="350" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hurricane-harvey_09-05-2017c.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">A damaged car sits outside a heavily damaged apartment complex in Rockport, Texas, after Hurricane Harvey struck the area, Aug. 26.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"><br style="clear: both;" /> The incessant rain covered much of Houston in turbid, gray-green water and turned streets into rivers navigable only by boat. In a rescue effort that recalled the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, helicopters landed near flooded freeways, airboats buzzed across submerged neighborhoods and high-water vehicles plowed through water-logged intersections. Some people managed with kayaks or canoes or swam.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">Volunteers joined emergency teams to pull people from their homes or from the water, which was high enough in places to gush into second floors. They urged people to get on top of their houses to avoid becoming trapped in attics and to wave sheets or towels to draw attention to their location.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Residents living around the Addicks and Barker reservoirs designed to help prevent flooding in downtown Houston, were warned that a controlled release from both reservoirs would cause additional street flooding and could spill into homes. Rising water levels and continuing rain was putting pressure on the dams that could cause a failure without the release.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hurricane-harvey_09-05-2017d.jpg" height="407" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hurricane-harvey_09-05-2017d.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Massive sinkhole in Rosenberg Texas. (Bottom) This man is a preacher checking for people inside cars at Interstate 610 and 288. Photo: MGN Online</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"> The Army Corps of Engineers early Aug. 28 started the water releases at the reservoirs ahead of schedule after water levels increased dramatically in a few hours’ time, a Corps spokesman said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">The timetable was moved up to prevent more homes from being affected by flooding from the reservoirs, Corps spokesman Jay Townsend said. He added that water levels were rising at a rate of more than six inches per hour in both reservoirs.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Meanwhile, officials in Fort Bend County, Houston’s southwestern suburbs, issued widespread mandatory evacuation orders along the Brazos River levee districts. </div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">County Judge Robert Herbert said at a news conference that National Weather Service officials were calling it an “800-year-flood level.” Judge Herbert said that amount of water would top the levees and carries a threat of levee failure.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Judging from federal disaster declarations, the storm early on affected about a quarter of the Texas population, or 6.8 million people in 18 counties. Some 50 counties&nbsp; were declared state disaster areas.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">“The breadth and intensity of this rainfall is beyond anything experienced before,” the National Weather Service said in a statement.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Brock Long, predicted that the aftermath of the storm would require FEMA’s involvement for years.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 323px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hurricane-harvey_09-05-2017e.jpg" height="500" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hurricane-harvey_09-05-2017e.jpg" width="323" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Neri Sanchez cries as she hugs her grandson, Jonathan Sanchez, 1, after being reunited at a rescue boat pickup area along Edgebrook, Texas, Aug. 27.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"> “This disaster’s going to be a landmark event,” Mr. Long said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">Rescuers had to give top priority to life-and-death situations, leaving many affected families to fend for themselves. And several hospitals in the Houston area were evacuated due to the rising waters.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">It was not clear how many people were plucked from the floodwaters. Up to 1,200 people had to be rescued in Galveston County alone, said Mark Henry, the county judge, the county’s top administrative post.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center was quickly opened as a shelter. It was also used as a shelter for Katrina refugees in 2005.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Gillis Leho arrived there soaking wet. She said she awoke to find her downstairs flooded. She tried to move some belongings upstairs, then grabbed her grandchildren.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“When they told us the current was getting high, we had to bust a window to get out,” Ms. Leho said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Some people used inflatable beach toys, rubber rafts and even air mattresses to get through the water to safety. Others waded while carrying trash bags stuffed with their belongings and small animals in picnic coolers.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said authorities had received more than 2,000 calls for help, with more coming in. He urged drivers to stay off roads to avoid adding to the number of those stranded.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">The deteriorating situation was bound to provoke questions about the conflicting advice given by the governor and Houston leaders before the hurricane. Gov. Greg Abbott urged people to flee from Harvey’s path, but the Houston mayor issued no evacuation orders and told everyone to stay home.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">The governor Aug.&nbsp; 27 refused to point fingers.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“Now is not the time to second-guess the decisions that were made,” Gov. Abbott, a Republican, said at a news conference in Austin. “What’s important is that everybody work together to ensure that we are going to, first, save lives and, second, help people across the state rebuild.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">The mayor, a Democrat, defended his decision, saying there was no way to know which parts of the city were most vulnerable.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“If you think the situation right now is bad, and you give an order to evacuate, you are creating a nightmare,” Mayor Turner said, citing the risks of sending the city’s 2.3 million inhabitants onto the highways at the same time.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">The Coast Guard deployed five helicopters and asked for additional aircraft from New Orleans.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">The White House announced that President Donald Trump would visit Texas on Aug. 29. He met by teleconference with top administration officials to discuss federal support for response and recovery efforts.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Harvey was the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in 13 years and the strongest to strike Texas since 1961’s Hurricane Carla, the most powerful Texas hurricane on record. </div><div class="BasicParagraph">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hurricane-harvey_09-05-2017g.jpg" height="352" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hurricane-harvey_09-05-2017g.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Evacuees wade down a flooded section of Interstate 610 as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston. The remnants of Hurricane Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into Houston as rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"><br style="clear: both;" /></div><br /><div align="center" class="BasicParagraph"><b>A new normal for disasters?</b></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“There is a reality that we have to come to grips with, and that is we are just beginning the process of responding to this storm,” said Gov. Abbott during an August 28 press conference from Corpus Christi, Texas.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“We need to recognize that this is going to be a new normal, a new and different normal for this entire region, but we will not stop until we get as far as we can,” Gov. Abbott said.<b> </b></div><div class="BasicParagraph"><b><br /></b></div><div class="BasicParagraph">President Trump declared a state of emergency in Louisiana on Aug. 28, and pledged the government’s full support. He said recovery will be a long and difficult road, and nothing can defeat the unbreakable spirit of people in those states.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">He asked for God’s wisdom and strength.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“We will get through this. We will come out stronger, and believe me, we will be bigger, better, stronger than ever before,” President Trump said during a press conference.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div align="center" class="BasicParagraph"><b>Fulfilling prophecy?</b></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Harvey has been called a landmark event, storm of the century, and its aftermath “like a war zone.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph">But Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan has continually warned President Trump that Almighty God Allah would use natural disasters to cripple America. He issued such a warning a week before Harvey struck.&nbsp; “Let me tell you what my teacher told me,” said the Minister speaking Aug. 20 at Mosque Maryam in Chicago. “Whether you know it or not, America is a preserved area: No bomb is going to fall here, because the God has you here—and the White man knows he’s keeping you a hostage, because God is after you.&nbsp; …&nbsp;</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">I want to say something to the president of the United States, Mr. Donald J. Trump.&nbsp; I would advise him, from the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“Brothers and sisters, Kim Jong-Un may get a nuclear warhead to put on his ballistic missile, but the God won’t let it come here. You are God’s people.&nbsp; He said this area is preserved for Him; He is going to take your enemy out in His way. He said America is ‘No. 1’ on His list to be destroyed.&nbsp; I didn’t say it.&nbsp; God said it, so says the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.&nbsp; ‘Well how are You gonna do it, God?’&nbsp; He (God) said, ‘Well, he doesn’t have any defense against the force of nature.’ Allah is going to use the wind, the rain, the tornadoes, the hurricane, the fire, hail, sleet, snow. He’s whipping America bad.&nbsp;</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“Mr. Trump: The God is after America for her evils done to His people.&nbsp; You have a chance to relieve yourself of some of the heaviness of the Judgment that is against you by letting my people go.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“Don’t you ever laugh when you see nature doing its work under the direction of the God that I’m talking to you about,” instructed Min. Farrakhan, as he waved his index finger during his keynote address at the Family Summit Conference in Atlanta on Aug. 29.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“But our teacher Elijah Muhammad named four great judgments that will come against America and the first one was unusual rain!&nbsp; Unusual snow.&nbsp; Unusual hail.&nbsp; Unusual earthquakes,” Min. Farrakhan continued. </div><div class="BasicParagraph">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hurricane-harvey_09-05-2017f.jpg" height="349" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hurricane-harvey_09-05-2017f.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Michael Thomas and his brother Deeantre try to collect belongings in their Saltgrass Landing apartment complex, destroyed by Hurricane Harvey, in Rockport, Texas, Aug. 26. Photos: AP/Wide World photos</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">“Is God angry?” he asked.&nbsp; “I said to Mr. Trump that America is a preserved area, according to our teacher.&nbsp; No bomb from a foreign government is going to fall here, according to what the Messenger taught me, but this area is preserved for God.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“All of us talk about God, even if we don’t believe in him, but God desires to make himself known to us by doing something that no one else could do but he, himself, so that the scripture might be fulfilled:&nbsp; Every knee will bow, and every tongue will be forced to confess that Allah is God,” Min. Farrakhan continued.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">In his enlightening book, “The Fall of America,” Elijah Muhammad devotes a chapter to the <i>“Four Great Judgments of America.” </i>“To be plagued with too much rain will destroy property and lives. It swells the rivers and creeks. Too much rain floods cities and towns. Large bodies of water at the ocean shore lines will be made to swell with unusually high waves, dumping billions of tons of water over the now seashore line,” he wrote.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“Rain destroys property and kills cattle by drowning them in low lands. Rain destroys the hiding places of vicious beasts and reptiles bringing them out fighting in small towns in peoples’ homes and farms.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“Rain weakens and destroys railroads, truck line beds and bridges. Rain undermines foundations of all types of buildings. Rain makes the atmosphere too heavy with moisture causing sickness. Wind with rain can bring destruction to towns and cities, bringing various germs, causing sickness to the people. It produces unclean water by the swelling of streams and destroying reservoirs of pure drinking water used for the health of the people. Rain is a destructive army within itself.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">He also warned, “God, in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad, will not be defeated. The more evil, deceiving, tricking and making of false promises to the American so-called Negro only increases America’s divine chastisement—doom.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“But God has chosen us to be His people, and He delights in fighting the enemy. According to the history of the former people, He delighted Himself by going forth against them when they exceeded the limit. So it is with America,” he wrote. “They must be separated. America will not agree to see the Negro separated from her until she has suffered divine punishment, as Pharaoh suffered. The same thing that other evil nations suffered before them is now coming upon this people.” “The Fall of America” was published in 1973.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div align="center" class="BasicParagraph"><b>Dynamic situation</b></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Some&nbsp; 8,000 people were in shelters in Houston alone at Final Call&nbsp; presstime, officials said. They asked for donations&nbsp; of money, food, clothing and medical supplies.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">The task is to now ensure aid reaches those in need, Mr. Boney said, noting that many plaintiff’s attorneys and consumer watch dog groups are urging disaster victims to file written notices of insurance claims before new Texas law which they argue restricts homeowners’ protections (House Bill 1774) takes effect on September 1.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Meanwhile, develop strategies for survival, particularly Blacks, who lack money and resources to evacuate, said Mr. Boney.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Callers have overloaded the 911 system, with 75,000 calls processed on August 28, down from 220,000 the day before.&nbsp;</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div align="center" class="BasicParagraph"><b>A long road to recovery</b></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Roughly 8,500 FEMA agents have been dispatched to the region, 1,100 of them performing search and rescue missions, according to the FEMA administrator.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Gov. Abbott has deployed all 12,000 Texas National Guard members to help maintain public safety. Four people attempted looting, but have been arrested.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Some have questioned why some negatively targeted Mayor Turner alone, and not other officials who acted similarly.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“People have begun finger pointing, but there’s no need to point the finger.&nbsp; If you’re going&nbsp; to point the finger, point the finger at the Son of Man, because he is the one that brings rain, hail, snow and earthquakes,” said Dr. Muhammad.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">There are also questions about how the GOP-controlled Congress will handle requests for&nbsp; disaster aid and whether the will be budget fights and demands for cuts to offset increases in disaster funding.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div align="center" class="BasicParagraph"><b>Far reaching implications</b></div><div class="BasicParagraph">The Texas Gulf Coast is home to nearly one-third of U.S. refining capacity, and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico accounts for nearly 20 percent of total U.S. crude oil production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">The American Automobile Association reported that gas prices shot up across the country as Hurricane Harvey blasted Texas.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“At $2.37, today’s national gas price average is four cents more expensive on the week and one of the largest one-week national gas prices surge seen this summer,” AAA stated on its web page Aug. 28.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">About one quarter of oil refining capacity in the Gulf Coast had been taken offline, reported AAA, according to forecasts by Oil Price Information Service. That equals about 2.5 million barrels per day. AAA said Harvey also caused eight refineries in Texas to shut&nbsp; down.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“For the rest of America, this is the lull before the storm, and we need to make note of what’s happening in Houston, because you’re gas price is about to go up,” Dr. Muhammad said.&nbsp; “While you’re praying for Houston, pray for yourself,” he advised.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><i>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</i><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-33564185247008751642017-08-24T15:18:00.002-07:002017-08-24T15:18:42.089-07:00From The Final Call Newspaper<h2>A White House meltdown? - Fallout from Charlottesville, infighting, racial divide dog Mr. Trump</h2><small>By <a href="http://www.twitter.com/askiaphotojourn">Askia Muhammad</a> -Senior Editor- | Last updated: Aug 22, 2017 - 1:56:31 PM</small><br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </h3><a href="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" target="_blank"> What's your opinion on this article?</a><br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="trumm-stability_08-29-2017.jpg" height="308" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/trumm-stability_08-29-2017.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /><b>WASHINGTON—</b>A primetime address on continued U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and a rally planned in Phoenix, Arizona, did not serve as a distraction from the latest fallout from what could be described as&nbsp; a presidential administration meltdown.<br /><br /><br />After a tumultuous two-and-a-half weeks out of town, while the White House underwent major renovations President Donald J. Trump returned to Washington Aug. 20 after what might have been his worst week in office, less than a month after his previous worst week in office.<br />On top of more chaotic turnover among his White House staff including the ouster of controversial chief strategist Steve Bannon; the lowest approval rating of any president so early in his term; public scorn for his wrong-headed comments about violence and race hatred among his supporters in Charlottesville, Virginia; Mr. Trump has been subjected to disapproval from members of his own party in the Senate.<br /><br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 250px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="sdn-bob-corker_08-29-2017.jpg" height="288" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/sdn-bob-corker_08-29-2017.jpg" width="250" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) </span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>“The president has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful,” Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) told reporters in Chattanooga, Aug. 17, according to a video posted by local news website Nooga.com. There must be “radical changes” within the White House in order for this president to be successful, he said after the president’s widely criticized comments about racially motivated protests in Charlottesville.<br /><br /><br />“He has not demonstrated that he understands what has made this nation great and what it is today, and he’s got to demonstrate the characteristics of a president who understands that,” Sen. Corker added. Another senate Republican agrees. He’s Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the only Black GOP member of the body.<br /><br />“It’s going to be very difficult for this president to lead if, in fact, his moral authority remains compromised,” the South Carolina senator said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”<br /><br />“He needs to hear something from folks who have gone through this painful history,” Sen. Scott said concerning the backlash Mr. Trump received after the Virginia incidents. “Without this personal connection to this painful past, it will be hard for him to regain that moral authority.”<br /><br />First shot in the circular firing squad, attacking two other Republican Senators: Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Jeff Flake of Arizona; on Twitter over their criticisms of him.<br /><br />The turmoil is reminiscent of frequent pre and post-election warnings by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam of what the election of Mr. Trump portends for America.<br />God put Mr. Trump in power, the Muslim leader told a standing room only audience at Chicago’s Mosque Maryam Aug. 20.<br /><br />“I know you didn’t want Trump. I didn’t either.&nbsp; But I said&nbsp;some words …&nbsp; When&nbsp;I was on Cliff Kelley’s show, I said:&nbsp;‘If you all vote for Trump,&nbsp;he will&nbsp;have you on a rocket ship to hell.’<b>&nbsp;</b>The ride is getting a little rough …&nbsp;&nbsp;But let&nbsp;me&nbsp;tell you something,&nbsp;if you don’t know God, you don’t see God’s hand,” said Min. Farrakhan during the address that was broadcast globally via internet.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="295" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lLilxRVC9zQ?rel=0&amp;controls=0&amp;showinfo=0" width="525"></iframe><br />“You say,&nbsp;‘How could God ever put that White man in there that’s ruining everything?’<i>&nbsp;&nbsp;</i>Did you ever stop to think that that’s his job?” the Minister continued. During his message Min. Farrakhan pointed out how Mr. Trump addressed Blacks during his campaign, his appointment of General James “Mad Dog” Mattis as Secretary of Defense and other cabinet appointments.<br /><br />“Notice the shake up all in the government?&nbsp; Have you ever,&nbsp;ever<i>&nbsp;</i>seen White folks so confused?&nbsp;&nbsp;Well, can’t you see?&nbsp; That’s bringing the man’s house down!&nbsp; The scripture teaches, ‘If Satan casts out Satan, how then can his kingdom stand?’”<br /><br /><div align="center"><b>Bannon, White Supremacy and more fallout</b></div>This latest unraveling of the Trump administration, its agenda, its inner circle amounts to “Meltdown 2.0” just seven months into the president’s term. With the exception of Vice President Mike Pence, who is, like the president, elected to a four-year term, every other member of Mr. Trump’s White House inner-circle—National Security Adviser Michael Flynn; Deputy Chief of Staff Katie Walsh; Communications Director Mike Dubke; Press Secretary Sean Spicer; Chief of Staff Reince Priebus; Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci; and Chief Strategist Steve Bannon—have all left the administration.<br /><br />But even with the departure of Mr. Bannon, who immediately rejoined Brietbart, a right-wing media website, it remains to be seen what if anything will change in the Trump administration.<br /><br />“Steve Bannon has unquestionably been a driving force behind the racial turmoil that threatens to tear this country apart. Such a divisive figure has no place in the White House. While it is appropriate that Steve Bannon go, his departure is not enough,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in a statement released the day Mr. Bannon left the White House. There are conflicting reports on whether he resigned or was fired. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 286px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="steve-bannon_08-29-2017.jpg" height="200" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/steve-bannon_08-29-2017.jpg" width="286" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Steve Bannon</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The NAACP issued a statement expressing its pleasure at seeing Mr. Bannon gone.<br /><br />“The NAACP is glad to see Steve Bannon out of the White House,” said Derrick Johnson, interim president and CEO of the NAACP in a statement. “Ousting one key staffer, however, can’t erase the words used by President Trump this week in defense of domestic terrorists, neo-Nazis and White supremacists. President Trump provided permission for these hate groups to exist,” the statement continued in part.<br /><br />The ousters at the White House, taken together, amount to a Trump purge, wrote Domencio Montanaro in an article on npr.org.&nbsp; “It’s the president asserting himself and saying no one is above No. 1,” he wrote in an article titled, “What Trump’s Increasing Isolation Could Mean For His Presidency.”<br /><br />“Re-election is still 39 months away. Until then, aides in the White House can have significant influence in how to shape White House policy and messaging. It’s hard to see how getting rid of all of them will make things easier for Trump,” Mr. Montanaro continued, before adding that Bannon’s exit could mean less chaos in the White House, but more outside.<br /><br />“After news of Bannon’s exit, Breitbart editor Joel Pollak tweeted simply, #WAR. And a headline on Breitbart’s site was: “WITH STEVE BANNON GONE, DONALD TRUMP RISKS BECOMING ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER 2.0.”<br /><br />Critics of the president also pointed to his scheduled Aug. 22 rally in Phoenix with precaution.<br />Organizers of a protest against the president as he prepared to visit Phoenix said they were expecting several outside groups to join. According to the Associated Press, Carlos Garcia of Puente, Arizona said protesters would meet the day of the rally around 4 p.m. and march from a downtown park to the Phoenix Convention Center, where Trump was scheduled to hold a rally at 7 p.m.<br /><br />Immigrant rights activists have protested Mr. Trump’s several Arizona visits, at one point blocking a major road that led to a rally he held in Fountain Hills, a Phoenix suburb. The groups oppose Trump pardoning former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted of misdemeanor contempt-of-court this year. Mr. Trump told Fox News he was seriously considering a pardon.<br /><br />Staff turnover and Arpaio are still not the only things dogging Mr. Trump. Even two voluntary corporate panels were dismantled after several Fortune 500 CEOs resigned; then members of an arts council resigned in mass; and the president chose to become the first president ever, to not participate in the John F. Kennedy Center Awards for outstanding U.S. artists. Mr. Trump said it would&nbsp; permit the artists to celebrate their honors without politics distracting from the award presentation. Three of those recipients had announced they would not attend a Trump hosted reception in their honor. <br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="confrontations_charlottesville_08-29-2017.jpg" height="295" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/confrontations_charlottesville_08-29-2017.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">President Trump’s unpopular stance on the violence in Charlottesville caused his approval ratings to fall to an all-time low. Photo: MGN Online</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="vigil_charlottesville_08-29-2017.jpg" height="265" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/vigil_charlottesville_08-29-2017.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Virginia after the violent clashes that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer Photo: MGN Online</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /> Another un-forced error committed by Mr. Trump was his defense of Confederate monuments; his kind words about the neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members; and his statements equating the behavior of anti-racist counter-protestors with that of armed Klansmen and neo-Nazis, whose violent attacks left Charlottesville resident Heather Heyer dead after an alledged neo-Nazi sympathizer ran into a crowd with his car.<br /><br /><br />This led to Mr. Trump’s approval ratings dropping below the all-time low reached during the previous White House meltdown, when the Republican-controlled Senate refused to pass “Trumpcare,” the President’s signature campaign promise to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), as Mr. Trump seemed to attempt to manipulate an FBI investigation into possible collusion with Russian operatives by the Trump 2016 election campaign.<br /><br />Meanwhile another battle is brewing and is on the horizon in opposition to the administration. <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 300px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="heather-hayer_08-29-2017.jpg" height="278" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/heather-hayer_08-29-2017.jpg" width="300" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Heather Heyer</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />“The August recess isn’t over yet, but progressive organizations are using the time to mobilize against looming Republican plans—spearheaded by the Trump administration in the White House and by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) in Congress—to give corporations and the nation’s wealthiest individuals massive tax cuts while putting services and social programs on the chopping block,” reports Common Dreams.<br /><br />“Side-by-side, there’s no denying it: Trump’s draconian cuts to services that will harm working families are intended to pay for his massive tax giveaways to big corporations and the wealthy. Helping the American people understand what’s at stake is how we will win the tax fight,” noted Jon Queally in the article, “Progressive armies mobilize against GOP tax cuts for Corporations and wealthy,” on commondreams.org. And, in another area of concern, the Secret Service, the agency charged with among other duties, the protection, safety and security of the president and his family, is running low on funds to perform those tasks.<br /><br />“The Secret Service can no longer pay hundreds of agents it needs to carry out an expanded protective mission— in large part due to the sheer size of President Trump’s family and efforts necessary to secure their multiple residences up and down the East Coast,” reported USA Today on Aug. 21. More than 1,000 agents have reportedly already hit the federally mandated caps for salary and overtime allowances, meant to last the entire year, the newspaper reported. <br /><br /><div align="center"><b>What does the future hold?</b></div>The continued uncertainties and fears of what’s next with the Trump administration lurks in the mind of concerned citizens. Lavon Pettis, a community outreach and engagement specialist in Chicago said, “People are both laughing, but they are also horrified and scared by Trump. Because he sounds like a cartoon super villain,” she said.<br /><br />“The situation in Charlottesville, Virginia. is pretty embarrassing for America and people are very agitated by this situation.&nbsp; Most people are on high alert because Trump is such a live wire.&nbsp; We have no idea what can happen and what Trump is doing, and what type of chaos this can lead to in the future.&nbsp; Marginalized groups are impacted by trauma from police brutality, mass deportation, economic uncertainties, and human rights violations that are dismantling the social fabric and core of American communities,” she added.<br /><br />There have been calls for Mr. Trump’s impeachment, but that will not make everything suddenly alright, noted activist and Patheos blogger Hakeem Muhammad.<br /><br />&nbsp;“White supremacy cannot be eradicated by impeaching Trump. It is time to correct our analysis. Don’t be duped by these big time White supremacist politicians condemning their small time White supremacists’ counterparts, White supremacy is White supremacy,” he told The Final Call.<br />Public sentiment toward Mr. Trump continues to echo a divide. When it comes to the direction of the country, the latest Rasmussen poll reported 30 percent said the country is headed in the right direction compared to 64 percent in the wrong direction. Rasmussen also reported 42 percent approval rating for Mr. Trump versus 57 that disapproved. A Gallup poll noted an approval rating of 35 percent compared to 59 percent disapproval.&nbsp;<br /><br />Although he is still popular among Republicans, his key constituency, his job performance rating has dropped among strong Republicans from 91 percent in June to 79 percent now, according to a Marist Poll released in mid-August.<br /><br />A majority, 62 percent, of the 1,009 U.S. residents polled think the president’s decisions overall have weakened the role of the United States on the world stage. Mr. Trump’s recent “manufactured crisis” over North Korean missile tests has also raised anxiety at home and among U.S. allies.<br />But there will be no foreign bombs landing in this country, Min. Farrakhan declared. “The United States is a preserved territory,” for God Himself. “The more you can delay the (impending) war, the better it will be for you,” he said.<br /><br />“God is after America for the evils done to His people,” the Muslim leader said in a direct warning to the president. “You have a chance to lessen your punishment by letting My people go.” <br /><i>(Nisa Islam Muhammad, J.A. Salaam and Final Call staff contributed to this report.) </i><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-29383325195346824972017-08-15T13:16:00.001-07:002017-08-15T13:19:28.508-07:00From The Final Call Newspaper<h2>Murder, violence and terror in Virginia</h2><small>By <a href="http://www.twitter.com/sischarlene">Charlene Muhammad</a> -National Correspondent- | Last updated: Aug 15, 2017 - 12:53:09 PM</small><br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" height="16" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </h3><a href="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" target="_blank"> What's your opinion on this article?</a><br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 300px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="james-alex-fields_08-22-2017a.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/james-alex-fields_08-22-2017a.jpg" height="236" width="300" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">James Alex Fields, Jr., 20, of Maumee, Ohio was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder, and allegedly drove the car that rammed into the Charlottesville, Va. rally. Photo: MGN Online</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph">James Alex Fields, Jr., an alleged White supremacist, has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of an anti-racist demonstrator and injuries to 19 others during a weekend “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">Heather Heyer, 32, died at the scene. Some of the other victims were still in critical condition at press time. State troopers Jay Cullen and Burke Bates died in a helicopter crash while monitoring the protests.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">Using a car as a weapon has become a common tactic among those described as Islamic terrorists, now the tactic appears to have been deployed by White Righters in America.&nbsp; The Justice Dept., has promised a full investigation as local authority pursue charges.&nbsp; Not many are confident, however, that there will be a proper federal response. </div><div class="BasicParagraph">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 175px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="heather_heyer_08-22-2017.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/heather_heyer_08-22-2017.jpg" height="173" width="175" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Heather Heyer, 32, was killed when a driver slammed into a crowd of counter protesters during a rally in Charlottesville.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">Mr. Field’s arrest is a step in the right direction, but it is not enough in a country plagued with racial division and violence, say activists, politicians, organizers, and news pundits. They feel more arrests are warranted due to extreme violence that ensued at hate rallies held by neo-Nazis, members of the Alt-Right, and the Ku Klux Klan.&nbsp;</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Judge Robert Downer declared the 20-year-old indigent, and did not set bond during his first court appearance on Aug. 14. His next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 25.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the Richmond FBI Field Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have opened civil rights investigations into the car attack.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Rochelle Bilal, president of the Guardian Civic League, Inc., said police officers should have been there to keep everybody safe. But like many witnesses reported, she saw a lot of law violations coming from the neo-Nazi groups, such as the pepper spraying of counter-protestors, with no repercussions, she said. The Guardian Civic League, Inc., is the Philadelphia chapter of the National Black Police Association. </div><div class="BasicParagraph">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="domestic-terrorism_08-22-2017.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/domestic-terrorism_08-22-2017.jpg" height="394" width="355" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after a White nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Aug. 12. The nationalists were holding the rally to protest plans by the city of Charlottesville to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. There were several hundred protesters marching in a long line when the car drove into a group of them. Photos: AP/Wide World photos</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">“Where were they? Did they <i>want </i>the people to fight? I was amazed by that. How did you allow people to come face-to-face? I’m trying to figure out were (police) there, too,” she told The Final Call.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">The law enforcement veteran also could not understand how an area in which people were marching wasn’t blocked off from vehicles, at least for a 2-3 block radius.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">A vehicle plowing into demonstrators, reverse, then still drive downtown before police caught him should never have happened, Ms. Bilal continued.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“I think whoever the chief of police is, there needs to be some emergency management training here, there needs to be some people trained in reference to protests and protocol, or they need to find a new chief of police, because this, somebody dropped the ball on this one,” Ms. Bilal concluded.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div align="center" class="BasicParagraph"><b>Domestic terrorism</b></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Daryle Lamont Jenkins, executive director of the anti-racist organization One People’s Project, told The Final Call he was driving to Charlottesville when things were starting to escalate.<br /><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“When I got there on Saturday, it was still relatively quiet, because when we went into town early morning, there were still some neo-Nazis representing Identity Europa, National Policy Institute, the KKK, the Proud Boys, American Vanguard, and Traditionalist Workers Party floating around the park at the time,” Mr. Jenkins stated.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“As the day went on, and it was basically a ‘who’s who’ of notable White supremacists, plus the younger folks that were coming in, and they were coming in armed,” he continued.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">The hate groups had side arms and AR-15 rifles. “They were walking in military formations and shields and helmets and clubs, so they were there to fight, and we knew that! That’s why we also came strapped up,” he said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Pepper spray was all over the place, clergy were getting thrown around, and once he got sprayed, he was done.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Mr. Jenkins said what happened in Charlottesville similarly occurred in York, Pennsylvania in 2002, except no one died when a Nazi plowed his car into anti-racists.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“By the time the nonsense happened, the state of emergency was declared, and I saw the ambulances going by,” Mr. Jenkins said. </div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="domestic-terrorism_08-22-2017b.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/domestic-terrorism_08-22-2017b.jpg" height="356" width="525" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">A vehicle reverses after driving into a group of protesters demonstrating against a White nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Aug. 12.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"><br style="clear: both;" />Many counter-demonstrators took the White supremacists for cops, because of their attire, Mr. Jenkins underscored.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">“I kept telling them, those are the militia groups—the Oath Keepers, the type of people that were over at the Bundy Ranch—and I had to let people know … they cannot give you orders you are duty-bound to follow!&nbsp; I had to keep telling people that, because they thought they were the cops. Where were the cops? Who knows!”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Virginia’s Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe, who declared a state of emergency for public safety on Aug. 12, placed blame on the neo-Nazis and White supremacists.&nbsp;</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“Our message is plain and simple: Go home. You are not wanted in this great commonwealth. Shame on you,” Gov. McAuliffe said. “You pretend that you are patriots, but you are anything but a patriot.”</div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 200px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="McAuliffe_08-22-2017.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/McAuliffe_08-22-2017.jpg" height="206" width="200" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Terry McAuliffe, 72nd Governor of Virginia</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph">According to media reports, Gov. McAuliffe defended police, saying the White nationalist militia were better armed than officers.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">Virginia State Police Chief Al Thomas said during an Aug. 14 press briefing police were not intimidated by the fire power of the Alt-Right, but it was prudent to make sure that officers were equipped to deal with the violence at hand.&nbsp;</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">He said officers were out in their everyday uniforms because they were hoping for a peaceful event.&nbsp;</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Police were prepared for the rally at Emancipation Park, he said. However, on Friday, Aug.11, members of the Alt-Right groups abandoned plans and entered the park from different directions, causing police to change their plans, Chief Thomas explained.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Police also were spread thin, once the violence began, and it took probably an hour to gain control of the streets, he said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“We regret this tragic day. We regret that we had a tragic outcome, and we lost lives,” Chief Thomas, who is Black, said. </div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="va-state-troopers_08-22-2017.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/va-state-troopers_08-22-2017.jpg" height="378" width="525" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Virginia State Police cordon off an area around the site where a car ran into a group of protesters after a White nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Aug. 12.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"><br style="clear: both;" /></div><br /><div align="center" class="BasicParagraph"><b>Empty words?</b></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides. It’s been going on for a long time in our country. Not Donald Trump, not Barack Obama, this has been going on for a long, long time. It has no place in America,” said President Donald Trump, in an initial statement Aug. 12.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">After scathing criticism for failing to label the incident domestic terrorism, and call out the White supremacists, he stated Aug. 14, “Racism is evil, and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, White supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Dr. Ava Muhammad, attorney and student national spokesperson for the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, said the statement was weak, because those groups are part of his base. And they have more sympathizers throughout White America than anyone would ever acknowledge, she said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“What we’re witnessing is what the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Minister Farrakhan have warned us, this is the culmination of the incapacity of White people to tolerate the presence of Black people in America in any capacity other than as slaves and servants. That’s what this is,” she stated.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">“That’s not going to happen,” said Min. Farrakhan in a 2016 year-end interview with The Final Call.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">“Our people are not going back to that; they’re not going to accept that.&nbsp; So, the more we awaken, the more we challenge the powers that have kept us down, the more we challenge those powers it brings great pain and suffering to us,” Min. Farrakhan stated.&nbsp; </div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="domestic-terrorism_08-22-2017c.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/domestic-terrorism_08-22-2017c.jpg" height="353" width="525" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">White nationalist demonstrators use shields as they clash with counter demonstrators at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Aug. 12. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Aug. 12 after violence erupted at a White nationalist rally in Virginia. At least one person was arrested. Photos: AP/Wide World photos</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"><br style="clear: both;" /></div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="domestic-terrorism_08-22-2017d.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/domestic-terrorism_08-22-2017d.jpg" height="350" width="525" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">In this photo taken, Aug. 11, multiple White nationalist groups march with torches through the UVA campus in Charlottesville, Va.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="BasicParagraph"><br style="clear: both;" />To those who are appalled, and question why neo-Nazis would come out with weapons, kill people, drive a car into a crowd and take somebody’s life over the removal of a statue of a Confederate leader, Dr. Muhammad said, “They would do it because it represents an attack on the very core of their belief system.”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><br /><div class="BasicParagraph">“I think that anyone who says this incident is surprising is lying to themselves or has had their eyes closed for the past at least five years,” said Martese Johnson, University of Virginia alumnus.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">As a third-year honor student there, he survived a confrontation by Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control officers on March 18, 2015. On October 12, 2015, he filed a federal $3 million lawsuit for false arrest and excessive force against the agency and three of its agents.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">The former brand strategist is back home in Chicago and works as an educator, but his heart is also in Charlottesville, where he feels their safety was violated both physically and mentally. Contrary to popular belief, many had already begun moving into their dorms when the White supremacists marched onto campus.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">He was appalled to learn the Alt- Righters showed up, unannounced, on the campus, where they weren’t given approval.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“When you look at the fact that in 2014 on this very same weekend, Michael Brown was murdered and the start of this whole Black Lives Matter movement began, you’d literally have to have your eyes closed for the past three years to think that racism in America wasn’t an issue,” Mr. Johnson said.&nbsp;</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Mr. Johnson doesn’t feel the age dynamic is such a huge thing, because the truth of the matter is there are recent university graduates who are participating with the Alt-Right, and protesting alongside 50- and 60-year-old men, he said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div align="center" class="BasicParagraph"><b>#FightWhiteSupremacy</b></div><div class="BasicParagraph">The calamity in Charlottesville drew the attention of Americans, some were shocked.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">University of Virginia youth, huddled with their heads down, holding a banner decrying racism though surrounded by tiki-torch-wielding Nazis, stood their ground as long as possible Aug.11 until the White supremacists started attacking them, anti-racist activist and author Tim Wise observed. Problems escalated when the neo-Nazis wouldn’t let them leave, he said.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">“You can’t just hold people against their will, so Richard Spencer and every single one of those men and maybe a handful of White women … ought to be arrested and charged. They won’t be though, and the reason they won’t be is because the Charlottesville police, evidently, were there to protect the Nazis and not to protect the anti-racists,” argued Mr. Wise.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Proof of that was after Mr. Fields allegedly mowed protestors down with his car, witnesses alleged there were police who watched the whole thing, watched him back up and didn’t do anything.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">“We all know what happens if a Black man takes a car and plows into a group of the White supremacists, and there are cops watching, I have a feeling there will be some guns unholstered,” Mr. Wise told The Final Call.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">Meanwhile, rallies and candlelight vigils under the hashtags #FightWhiteSupremacy and #CvilleStrong erupted across the country in cities including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago and Washington, D.C., as news of the violence spread.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">In Seattle, anti-racist demonstrators and police clashed, as the protestors attempted to reach a rally organized by the right-wing group Patriot Prayer some two blocks away, according to media reports. That rally was planned before the “Unite the Right” rally in Virginia, according to the <i>Seattle Times</i>.</div><div class="BasicParagraph">“Maybe the most optimistic reading is that this is the last gasp of a group that feels that they’re losing everything they’ve ever had, and in a way, they are. White men are losing hegemonic dominance. We’re not losing opportunity. We’re not losing our rights. We’re not oppressed,” Mr. Wise told The Final Call. He is Caucasian.</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><br /></div><div class="BasicParagraph">He added, “If this is what White folks do, when we are still less as likely to be unemployed as Black folks, and still have 12 times as much wealth on average as Black folks, think of what we would do if we were actually oppressed … if we really were being violated, because this is what we do when we we’re still on top.&nbsp; This is what we do when we’re still in power!”</div><div class="BasicParagraph"><i>(Nisa Islam Muhammad contributed to this report.)</i><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-78548607563721099272017-08-08T13:37:00.001-07:002017-08-08T13:40:08.449-07:00From The Final Call Newspaper<h2>Min. Farrakhan Banned in UK!</h2><small>By <a href="http://www.twitter.com/RMFinalCall">Richard B. Muhammad</a> - Editor | Last updated: Aug 7, 2017 - 1:48:50 PM</small><br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" height="16" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </h3><a href="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" target="_blank"> What's your opinion on this article?</a><br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="african-international-day-action-08-15-2017a.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/african-international-day-action-08-15-2017a.jpg" height="171" width="525" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Crowd on London’s Kensington Park assembles for African International Day of Action.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="african-international-day-action-08-15-2017b.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/african-international-day-action-08-15-2017b.jpg" height="212" width="525" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">From left: Michael Muhammad, Abdul Hakeem Muhammad, Ras Sugar Dread and Sheba Levi Steward listen as Stella Headley of the Rastafari Movement UK reads permit including restrictions that banned Minister Farrakhan or any Nation of Islam representative from speaking.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Barred from speaking in United Kingdom</span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Free speech, religious rights violated as Farrakhan is targeted by government</em></span></strong><br /><br />Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam have no rights that UK political leaders are bound to respect given a new low in the denial of free speech and free exercise of religion inside the onetime colonial power.<br /><br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 200px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hmlf_file1_8.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hmlf_file1_8.jpg" height="298" width="200" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>The 30-year-old campaign against the honorable minister and the Nation escalated as the Minister was denied the right to speak via videotaped message or live stream to a London audience. And a Nation student minister and Muslims in the UK were denied the right to speak—or even pass out literature about their faith and beloved minister the same day.<br /><br /><br />The astonishing denial of religious, free speech and human rights came during the Africa International Day of Action in London’s Kensington Park in early August.<br /><br />Despite almost a year of planning, meeting and dialogue with local political leaders, who controlled the park permit for the annual event, event organizers were informed of the major restrictions at the last minute. Hundreds assembled in the park Aug. 5 were angered and shocked by the unjust decision, said event organizers.<br /><br />“It was clear to me that they are outlawing Islam as taught by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan,” said Abdul Hakeem Muhammad, the European representative of Min. Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam based in London. Student Minister Hakeem Muhammad and N.O.I. officials are working on a proper legal response to the decision but are troubled at the blatant rights violations and apparent widening of a campaign against Min. Farrakhan.<br /><br />As a citizen of the United Kingdom, Student Minister Hakeem Muhammad should have had the right to share his views and express his faith at the festival. A message from Min. Farrakhan was billed as the highlight for the three-year-old event. Instead the Lambeth Council, a local elected body, muzzled him and denied basic rights through prohibitions in the park permit.<br /><br />Police were also clearly on hand to enforce permit restrictions, said event organizers.<br />The permit explicitly forbade any video or livestream of the Minister, any words from representatives of Min. Farrakhan and the Nation and the distribution of any N.O.I. literature or information. The edicts came late on a Friday night before the Saturday event and too late for a court challenge. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 290px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="sheba-levi-steward-08-15-2017.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/sheba-levi-steward-08-15-2017.jpg" height="336" width="290" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Sheba Levi Steward Photos: Thabo Jaiyesimi</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />It would appear strange that a hyper-local political body would act in such a major way, except that the justification for the denials came from the Home Office of the United Kingdom. The Home Office, headed by former Prime Minister Teresa May, is similar to the Department of Homeland Security in America, explained Abdul Hakeem Muhammad, who was formerly known as Hilary Muhammad. He was renamed by Min. Farrakhan.<br /><br />Abdul Arif Muhammad, general counsel for the Nation of Islam in Chicago, agreed with Minister Hakeem Muhammad that the Lambeth Council actions “very clearly” exceeded the scope of a ban on Min. Farrakhan wrongly imposed three decades ago.<br /><br />Under that wrongheaded and ill-motivated action, the Minister was denied entry into the United Kingdom. Part of the reason the ban stayed in place, despite N.O.I. UK battles to overturn it, was the government argument that Min.&nbsp; Farrakhan was able to reach his followers through communication such as telephone hook-ups, satellite transmissions, literature and videotapes at that time. The UK government’s argument was the Minister’s views were accessible, but his person was not desired in the country. The Lambeth Ban now seems to take away those and more current methods of communication and expression.<br /><br />“The question of the origin of that violation is important because you have freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The human right of the human being to speak freely and practice religion in America is considered sacrosanct and similarly in the UK. The council were actors, but on whose behalf? They are a local council,” observed Atty. Arif Muhammad.<br />While the legal strategy is hashed out, there are moves underway to contest a local councilor who supported the Lambeth Ban and oppose his reelection next year. <br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="african-international-day-action-08-15-2017e.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/african-international-day-action-08-15-2017e.jpg" height="220" width="525" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Crowd gathers at Kensington Park on Aug. 5 for African International Day of Action in the UK.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /><br /><div align="center"><b>The anti-Farrakhan campaign</b></div>The Africa International Day of Action was organized and co-sponsored by the Rastifari Movement UK and the Nation of Islam and has been observed since 2014. This year’s theme was devoted to “healing and repair” and was a far cry from any extremist or hate falsely smeared on the Minister. The day’s theme reflects messages and preaching about reconciliation and healing wounds that are major elements of Min. Farrakhan’s ministry. Authorities justified the Lambert Ban by saying there were worries about public or counter protestors from the far right, gay groups and Jewish organization opposed to Min. Farrakhan’s words. The theme of the Minister’s address for Aug. 5 was “Reparations: What Does the U.K. and Europe Owe Us?”<br /><br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="african-international-day-action-08-15-2017d.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/african-international-day-action-08-15-2017d.jpg" height="237" width="355" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Drummers perform during African International Day of Action.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>It was bad enough that the person of Min. Farrakhan would be banned but now his word is being banned, Abdul Hakeem Muhammad said. It is a logical step, he observed. The word is powerful and that word is now spreading throughout Black households in the United Kingdom, he said. In a twisted sense, the opposition to Min. Farrakhan is confirmation of how powerful and important his words are, added Min. Hakeem Muhammad.<br /><br /><br />Glenroy Watson of the Global African Congress, which grew out of the World Conference Against Racism in 2001, joined other organizers and supporters of Africa International Day in condemning the Lambeth Ban.<br />The trade unionist referred to the action as an “absurd situation.” Even the political wing of the Irish Republican Army was allowed to speak in this country, but “Africans living in this country not allowed to speak with other Africans? They wish to muzzle our mouths and cut off our legs,” said Mr. Watson, who is Global African Congress co-chair. “We are going to have to take this on heavily.”<br /><div align="center"><b>A peaceful festival and a false controversy</b></div>Abu Akil, chair of the Global African Congress, denounced the Lambeth Ban. In the UK, people are being funded to seek out internal threats and concern about terrorism was used to cover opposition to Min. Farrakhan, he said. The reality is a divided Black community is coming together with a demand for reparations and that is seen as a significant threat, said Mr. Akil. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 300px;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://www.noi.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/LONDON-PARK-EVENT-PERMIT_aug4_2017.pdf" target="_blank"><img alt="african-international-day-action-08-15-2017f.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/african-international-day-action-08-15-2017f.jpg" height="388" width="300" /></a> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The Council of Lambeth in London's permit requirement containing the <a href="https://www.noi.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/LONDON-PARK-EVENT-PERMIT_aug4_2017.pdf">"special requirements"</a>.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Absolutely nothing about the park event could be construed as linked to terrorism and the event has been peaceful, never violent nor extremist, he noted. The only driver for the Lambeth Ban could have been the Home Office, Mr.&nbsp; Akil added.<br />Lambeth Council, which represents a ward<br />with a high Black population, made the permit process very difficult, he said. Event organizers noted that in the past, members of the Lambeth Council have expressed support for the event and even spoken at the festival.<br /><br />Africa International Day of Action is a free day devoted to highlighting the Black and Caribbean communities through consciousness raising, empowerment, cultural activities and a focus on health, business and entrepreneurship, youth enterprises, an arts and crafts market, traditional African, Caribbean and healthy cuisine, music, speakers, dancers and singers, games, sports, drumming, information and guidance for services and support and reggae performances.<br /><br />According to The Voice, a Black newspaper in the United Kingdom, “ethnic minorities now account for up to 14 percent of the UK population, with a purchasing power of more than £300bn ($390 billion) and rising—with approximately 2 million Afro Caribbean in the UK, half of which live in London.”<br /><br />“There is on one hand a denial and idea that somehow race no longer matters and anyone who complains is belly aching, but then we are marginalized in education, health care and business and that process is very sophisticated,” continued Mr. Akil. “We are being marginalized like never before and in some ways turning on neighbors and family members, instead of our oppressors.”<br />So, there is a fear Blacks will organize and mobilize for reparations, which is the issue for the 21st century, Mr. Akil argued.<br /><br />Sheba Levi Steward of the Rastafari Movement UK explained how the Africa International Day of Action followed a 2014 march on Parliament from Brixton, an historic Black community in London. It included a declaration about Black concerns and plans for the international day to be observed annually for the next 10 years as part of the United Nations-declared decade for people of African descent. It included positive measures the community would take to restore and repair itself, she said. The aims of the day and the day’s program was well known, she argued.<br /><br />“Africa Day of International Action showcases the work that we do and share with other organizations and groups and collaborate with other groups,” said Ms. Levi Steward. “We are mindful that no other race in history has gone through what the African race has gone through.”<br />“Though we are Rasta, we are African and one blood not willing to be divided by force or intimidation,” she vowed.<br /><br />There were meetings with the Lambeth Council to discuss “concerns” and the council is aware of the Rastafari Movement UK’s work, business plan and N.O.I. assurances in writing about the positive nature of the event, said Ms. Levi Steward.<br /><br />“The community came out to show our day is something we are entitled to, hearing our people is something we are entitled to, and with human rights we have a right to have a day and event. The Nation of Islam has always been dignified and disciplined,” she said.<br /><br />The council also failed in its duty to ensure Black people, who are supposed to be protected by UK equality law, were not harmed in its decision, added Ms. Levi Steward.<br /><br />Stella Headley, of the Rastafari Movement, pointed out that the organization works to strengthen itself internally and runs community and international programs. Among the efforts are economic and entrepreneurship programs and workshops for the development of girls and women, media and radio, and craft making. International work includes a nursery school in Gambia, programs in Ghana and Ethiopia, she said.<br /><br />Ironically Kensington Park is known as the birthplace for democracy in the UK and is a place where anti-slavery movement and Black leaders met in the 18th century to declare concerns about Black life in this country, she said.<br /><br />Min. Farrakhan would have been projected onto a giant screen and sound would have piped throughout the park. Instead Ms. Levi Steward read the permit and its prohibitions to the crowd as Min. Hakeem Muhammad stood by her side. Then he directed the crowd to the Minister’s Facebook page where they could view the Minister’s message, which he delivered Aug. 5 via social media, on their phones and personal electronic devices. Min. Hakeem Muhammad also invited the crowd to come to Muhammad Mosque No. 1 in London to view the message the next day.<br /><br />The mosque meeting was packed, he said.<br /><br />Ras Sugar Dread, of the Rastafari Movement UK and a radio host, said, “This event opened people’s eyes to what is happening in the UK and the world.”<br /><br />The event cost over $20,000 to put on, said organizers. Min. Hakeem Muhammad said he obeyed the Minister’s instructions and did not violate the terms of the permit. If I had started to speak, the police would have intervened, it would have been chaos and opened the way for the N.O.I. UK to be banned as an extremist group, he said. Even the extreme weather, which included rain, lightening and sunshine, helped thin the crowd and avoid a confrontation, he said.<br /><br /><div align="center"><b>What does the UK and Europe owe?</b></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="295" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KPH3XQHugyI?rel=0&amp;start=71" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="525"></iframe><br />Blacks are in the Western Hemisphere because they were brought here by enslavers and colonial masters and were torn from Africa, said Min. Farrakhan, in a message from his social media accounts.<br /><br />Reparations is a serious matter and deal with what the UK owes the sons and daughters of Africa in the Caribbean and in Africa, he said. Both suffered the cruelty of domination, whether through slavery or colonization, said Min. Farrakhan.<br /><br />We have been subjected to tyranny, the loss of freedom and the cry for justice and our pain has been ignored, he said.<br /><br />What does UK owe those formerly colonized and enslaved? asked Min. Farrakhan.<br /><br />If the biblical law of justice, a life for life, is observed tens of millions of us have been destroyed in the Transatlantic Slave Trade with tens of millions destroyed on the African continent, he observed.<br />If Europe paid for loss of life under colonialism and slavery, not too many White Europeans would be left alive if that law was applied, said the Minister.<br /><br />Europe benefitted from evil and death heaped on Blacks, where ill-gotten gains built beautiful capitals and cities, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome and Palermo, Italy, said Min. Farrakhan.<br />The stones in the streets and beautiful buildings were built on the backs of those Whites enslaved and colonized, but did Whites think the pendulum of justice would not swing back to them? he asked. The Bible says God is not mocked, what a man sows he shall reap, warned the Minister.<br /><br />Whites owe us everything, but can’t pay with all their lives, yet some payment must be made, he said. Reparatory justice is the cry of Africa, the Caribbean and Asia, said Min. Farrakhan.<br /><br />But Europe does not want Black people anymore and the skills and brain power of Black people must be put to work in the Caribbean and Africa, he said. We are not feeding ourselves in the Caribbean or Africa and a genocidal plot is afoot with unhealthy food and food loaded with carcinogens coming from Europe and America, he said.<br /><br />We must separate from these people as Great Britain and Europe are not as great as they once were and cannot create employment for their own jobless people, Min. Farrakhan said. Blacks must separate from the mindset of their former owners and colonial masters and strike out on their own, he continued.<br /><br />Unity can bring some level of justice but the future is in self-help and development of the Caribbean and Africa, with economic, education and justice systems created by Black people for Black people, he said.<br /><br />Blacks must reject envy, hatred, jealousy, petty dislikes and division based on European languages, skin color and places their ancestors are from, warned Min. Farrakhan.<br /><br />“Europe is not going to give you reparations but the repair for us is already here.&nbsp; In the Bible, it says I will send my messenger from before my face and he will prepare the way for me. And that messenger would have healing in his wings. … The wings of a messenger of God is knowledge. What you are suffering from is ignorance and the manipulation of our ignorance by the forces of power,” he said.<br /><br />“You, England, should be afraid of the wrath of God,” the Minister added. There should not be fear of my words, he said.<br /><br />Uniting with one another and with God will bring reparations and success that Blacks desire, said Min. Farrakhan.<br /><em>(<a href="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/Minister_Louis_Farrakhan_9/article_103755.shtml">Read edited text of Min. Farrakhan’s Aug. 5 message to the UK</a>.)</em><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-37167796809489781772017-08-02T17:45:00.001-07:002017-08-02T17:53:33.444-07:00From The Final Call Newspaper<h2 style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 35px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Federal oversight of police reform: functional or futile?</h2><small style="color: #9f9e9e; display: block; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9px; padding-bottom: 10px; text-transform: uppercase;">BY&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/sischarlene" style="color: #0d719b; font-family: Georgia; text-decoration-line: none;">CHARLENE MUHAMMAD</a>&nbsp;-NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT- | LAST UPDATED: AUG 2, 2017 - 1:09:48 PM</small><br /><h3 style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734" style="color: #0d719b; font-family: Georgia; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" height="16" style="border: 0px; float: right; margin: 5px 0px 5px 10px;" width="125" /></a></h3><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" style="color: #0d719b; font-family: Georgia; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">What's your opinion on this article?</a></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;"><img src="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.finalcall.com%2Fartman%2Fuploads%2F5%2Fn-gyamfi_l-lynch_e-holder_08-08-2017.jpg&amp;container=blogger&amp;gadget=a&amp;rewriteMime=image%2F*" /></span><br /><br />Controversial police officer-involved-shootings and other abuses across the country has spurred activists, grieving families and concerned citizens to continue the push for increased federal oversight in monitoring and enacting substantive changes in law enforcement practices on local levels.<br /><br />But even when the U.S. government becomes involved, the question remains, do consent decrees and oversight of the police departments who violate the law even matter? What are the consequences, if any, for police departments that fail to adhere to these federal mandates?<br /><br />According to some civil rights attorneys and legislators, there has been of good and bad in regulating police departments nationwide. Some victims’ families and police reform activists feel the government’s efforts toward justice have been a waste of time, money, and resources. These resources should be put elsewhere to solve the problem, they argue.<br /><br /><div>“First of all, all the laws from the government, period, don’t include us, so anything, I don’t care how they name it, since it doesn’t include us or protect us, it’s worthless to us,” stated Harry “Spike” Moss, who’s been fighting to end police brutality in Minnesota since 1966.<br /><br />Consent decrees are effective, said Congresswoman Maxine Waters, adding that evidence has shown they have resulted in reductions in the overall use of force by police departments and improvements in police training on de-escalation.<br /><br />As for improvements to the process, she told The Final Call, “First, we need an Administration and a Justice Department that cares about Civil Rights issues and is invested in police reform, and we don’t have that with Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions. Second, more can be done to look at how we ensure that police reforms and improvements that are made while consent decrees are in effect are long-term and last after the consent decrees are lifted.”</div><div>For instance, she stated, some data has indicated that, although there are dramatic reductions in litigation against police departments while the consent decree is in effect, that trend reverses once the decree is lifted. The federal oversight of a police department under a consent decree is meant to be temporary, but the police reforms need to be permanent, Congresswoman Waters added.<br /><br />The U.S. Department of Justice began implementing federal consent decrees in 1997. It launched pattern-or practice investigations of police departments where institutional failures were seemingly contributing factors to police misconduct.<br /><br />In 2001, a consent decree was used as an accountability measure on the Los Angeles Police, following a series of high profile incidents involving police shootings and heavy-handed tactics toward mostly Black citizens.<br /><br />Among these incidents, included the nationally-publicized beating of Black motorist Rodney King and subsequent acquittal of the officers involved and the Rampart police division scandal, which exposed gang unit officers planting evidence, framing suspects, stealing drugs and money.<br /><br />Cities or territories currently under a federal consent decree include: the Virgin Islands, Seattle, New Orleans, East Haven (Conn.), Puerto Rico, Portland, Warren (Ohio), Albuquerque, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department-Antelope Valley, Cleveland, Meridian (Miss.), Maricopa County (Arizona), Ferguson, and Newark, according to the Justice Department.<br /><br />The way consent decrees function is the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division files civil lawsuits against police departments with patterns or practices of misconduct. Consent decrees are designed to look at systemic issues within police departments, such as complaints of constant, excessive force issues, racial profiling, training, and other misconduct problems.<br /><br />Cases may go to a jury, but the majority of cities settle, and agree to correct specific problems within a certain time-frame. Since it began, the investigations and filings of the Justice Department’s cases against all but six cities ended in settlement without going to trial.<br /><br />In addition to the Justice Department, state and local officials, as well as other entities also are involved. Those include organizations, advocates and activists from affected communities, who are a part of reporting whether police misconduct has gotten better or worse.<br /><br />The federal government appoints independent monitors to track progress and compliance. Any violations trigger penalties outlined in the consent decrees, usually fines.</div><div>The Justice Department could press the issue of violations in court. Then a federal judge could hold individual officers accountable through criminal charges.<br /><br /><img src="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.finalcall.com%2Fartman%2Fuploads%2F5%2Fblack-lives-matter_08-08-2017.jpg&amp;container=blogger&amp;gadget=a&amp;rewriteMime=image%2F*" /><br /><i>A group of Penn State University students organized a protest in reaction to the killing of Michael Brown, Jr. The City of Ferguson in Missouri reluctantly entered into a consent decree with the DOJ. Photo: MGN Online</i><br /><br />When asked why the Justice Department has chosen the approach of consent decrees instead of prosecuting cops or police departments for their misconduct, Lauren Ehrsam, spokeswoman and Media Affairs Specialist invited the Final Call to its website to “look at the work that this administration has done using consent decrees, and said in regards to them.”<br /><br />Ms. Ehrsam also provided a few press releases issued this April, but the question remained.<br /><br />The LAPD consent decree was lifted in 2009 amid lots of dissatisfaction and disappointment in the community.<br /><br />L.A.-based human rights lawyer Nana Gyamfi concurred with Mr. Moss, that decrees don’t matter when it comes to Black and Brown people. This is because police come out of the function of oppressing, attacking, and killing on behalf of the state, capitalism and White supremacy, she stated.</div><div>A police commission with various powers and structural changes within the LAPD came out of that consent decree, she noted. “But at the end of the day, three years running, it’s the most murderous police department in the country,” Atty. Gyamfi told The Final Call.<br /><br />According to Atty. Gyamfi , the lack of real structural change is due to powerful police unions, and Black political leaders weakened by the financial backing they receive from those various unions throughout the country.</div><div>Because consent decrees are founded in lies, such as, “what we’re dealing with is just a few bad apples, that generally the police are wonderful and great people who mean no harm to the community …” it’s not producing any type of result other than the same result that we’ve seen before,” said Atty. Gyamfi<br /><br /><b>Uphill battle</b><br /><br />In 2015, the U.N. Human Rights Council condemned the U.S. for human rights failures, particularly with regard to racism and police murders of Black men and boys.<br /><br />“When you have that kind of laws and policies, we’re like road kill for them. … I’m almost convinced that the Nazis, the Skinheads, and the KKK (Ku Klux Klan) have told their membership to join law enforcement all over the country, because look how it’s changed from the 60s, how it has become that all of them have the spirit of those organizations,” Mr. Moss stated.<br /><br />U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has shown that apparently he doesn’t see any benefit in consent decrees, said civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump. Mr. Sessions has said the federal misconduct lawsuits undermine respect for officers, and he’s ordered a sweeping review of 14 active federal consent decrees, which began under the Obama Administration.<br /><br />Atty. Gen. Sessions said in a March 31 memo to staff that effective policing depends on local control and accountability. “It is not the responsibility of the federal government to manage non federal law enforcement,” he stated.<br /><br />In Los Angeles County, reforms address a pattern of singling out people who receive federal housing subsidies for unconstitutional stops, searches, arrests and uses of force linked to community bias against people poor enough to qualify for such assistance.<br /><br />Baltimore entered into a consent decree in Jan. 2017, nearly two years after the death of Freddie Gray in April 2015. A federal judge refused Atty. Gen. Sessions’ request to hold the decree for more time to review it, saying negotiations were over.</div><div>City officials are in the process of selecting the monitoring team which will track compliance for three years as set by the decree.<br /><br />Investigators found police there exhibited a pattern or practice of systemic violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, focusing on the failure to make reasonable accommodations when interacting with people with mental health disabilities.<br /><br />“To me, to be honest, I’m so sick of all this reform talk, because at the end of the day, let’s be clear, this is a constant conspiracy to obstruct justice,” said Baltimore activist Tawanda Jones. “If they are doing criminal acts, they need criminal charges,” Ms. Jones told The Final Call.<br /><br />Tyrone West, her brother, died in police custody on July 18, 2013. According to media reports police tackled him after a traffic stop, claiming he resisted arrest.<br /><br />Ms. Jones maintains he was beaten. Maryland and Baltimore recently agreed to a joint $1 million settlement with his family. She said real accountability is for State Attorney Marilyn Mosby to reopen the case now that the civil suit is over.</div><div>The City of Ferguson in Missouri reluctantly entered into a consent decree last year, following the Aug. 2014 killing of Michael Brown, Jr. According to the Justice Department, it has missed critical deadlines, such as not setting up an operating independent civilian review board of the police department by Jan. 15. Ferguson officials said the work was hard, but that they’re further ahead than other cities under similar mandates and have made progress.<br /><br />Penalties for violating consent decrees are supposed to range from revoked funding to criminal repercussions, such as holding officers and supervisors responsible, according to Atty. Crump. However, Ferguson has not been penalized. The chances are slim, he said.<br /><br />“It’s really not set up for them to go to jail or anything, but it’s set to be a financial incentive or financial albatross for them, depending on if they comply with the consent decree,” Atty. Crump explained.<br /><br />There were more consent decrees in Pres. Obama’s eight years in office than all other U.S. presidents combined, said Atty. Crump. Now, the consent decree doesn’t have nearly as much weight as it would have had under the last administration, he stated.<br /><br />“It’s not surprising. Folks talk about how they’re yearning for the good ’ole days when Eric Holder was attorney general and the federal government and the Department of Justice was more interested, allegedly, in addressing these issues with respect to police violence and state sanctioned violence at the hands of the police, when in fact, I think when if we look at what really has occurred, we haven’t seen a federal prosecution yet. … There’s not a single federal prosecution, out of all those murders of Black folks at the hands of the police,” Atty. Gyamfi said.<br /><br />That was even with two Black attorney general’s during Pres. Obama’s two terms, including Mr. Holder and his predecessor Loretta Lynch, who served at the end of his administration, she added.<br /><br />“I know a lot of times in the media it’s gloom and it’s doom, but you have to remember, in most of these federal agencies, at least from my understanding and my experience has been, you have a number of people who are there regardless of who the President of the United States is,” said Dwayne Crawford, executive director of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE).<br /><br />He said he understands the rhetoric about being tough on crime and that his organization is finding that the work which began under the Obama Administration is continuing. According to Mr. Crawford, at least 18,000 agencies seem to be interested in continuing the police reform efforts begun in recent years.<br /><br />“I’m not here to say that consent decrees are perfect. I’m not here to say they solve everything, but I am here to say that I really think that many of these agencies are trying their best to ensure one, community engagement, transparency, accountability … but I also want to say to everyone that there are men and women, both within the profession, within federal government, who are doing their best, in my mind, to continue these reform efforts,” Mr. Crawford told The Final Call.<br /><br />The federal government can also check police misconduct through patterns and practice investigations which can result in federal mandates like the one brought by U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson in Oakland, Calif., in 2003.<br /><br />The city went under federal observation after four former officers in West Oakland were charged for misconduct ranging from planting drugs on, beating, and falsely arresting poor Black people. The case ended in a $10.9 million payout to 119 victims. Three of the officers, Matthew Hornung, Clarence Mabanag and Jude Siapno, were acquitted. The fourth, Frank Vazquez, fl ed the country, and remains a fugitive.<br /><br />Oakland officials agreed to implement various reforms such as around training, and better investigating citizens complaints.<br /><br />According to Atty. John Burris, a civil rights lawyer who helped bring the case, there’s something very positive about a consent decree, at least in terms of its objectives. But they don’t work without cooperation and accountability, he said.<br /><br />Otherwise, consent decrees can go on indefinitely, as it has with the Oakland case, he said.<br /><br />The problem is praising departments and police officers for making “some progress,” and then extending their time-frame for improvement, according to Cephus “Uncle Bobby” Johnson, whose nephew, Oscar Grant, III., was shot in the back by a former BART officer on a station platform in 2009.<br /><br />Increasing crisis intervention training or requiring cops use body cameras haven’t brought justice, because at the same time, the killings, shootings, and violations continue, said Mr. Johnson stated.<br /><br />“The policy and outlook of police work may have changed, but the actual culture of police work has not changed. The corruption that it has been known for still exist,” said Student Minister Keith Muhammad of Muhammad Mosque No. 26B in Oakland.</div>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-31298124084039579572017-07-04T10:18:00.001-07:002017-07-04T10:19:21.565-07:00From The Final Call newspaper<h2>Exploitation of Innocence - Report: Perceptions, policies hurting Black girls</h2><small>By <a href="http://www.twitter.com/sischarlene">Charlene Muhammad</a> -National Correspondent- | Last updated: Jul 4, 2017 - 11:21:16 AM</small><br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" height="16" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </h3><a href="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" target="_blank"> What's your opinion on this article?</a><br />She could have a baby doll in one hand and crayons in the other, but a Black girl as young as five-years-old is seen as less innocent and more adult-like than her White peers, according to a new study. <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="girlhood-interrupted_07-11-2017a.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/girlhood-interrupted_07-11-2017a.jpg" height="453" width="355" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />“Girlhood Interrupted,” released by the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, indicated that perception is of Black girls age 5 through age 14.<br /><br />Adults from various racial, ethnic and educational backgrounds surveyed on-line said they felt Black girls need less nurturing, less protection, and need to be supported and comforted less than White girls their age.<br /><br />Further, they viewed Black girls as more independent, and believed the girls knew more about adult topics and more about sex.<br />Thalia González, lead author of the report and associate professor and chair of the Politics Department at Occidental College in Los Angeles, said researchers were very struck by perceptions despite the ages of the Black female children.<br /><br />“What does that mean? That’s kindergarten, 1st grade. That means what we’re seeing is that adults view girls as young as five-years- old as needing less protection, less support, or less nurturing than their White classmates, and that’s really shocking,” Prof. González told The Final Call.<br /><br /><hr /><blockquote><strong><em><span style="font-size: small;">‘Parents do it inadvertently. Schools do it all the time. They (Black girls) complain bitterly about their schooling. They complain bitterly about rape and sexual assault, to just everything, so the irony of this report is while people are viewing our girls negatively as not innocent, we are missing the fact that in reality, their innocence is being exploited all the time.’</span> —Atty. Barbara Arnwine</em></strong></blockquote><hr />The survey builds on similar results found in a 2014 study of Black boys, which found those views are coming across at age 10, the visiting researcher at the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality noted.<br /><br />Prof. González attributed the views to dominant paradigms and stereotypes of Black women and Black femininity, which began as early slavery and persist today.<br /><br />“This idea of Black feminists, angry Black women, for example, or very sexual, hyper-sexualized, seductive women, and those stereotypes that are present in the media, for example, or in other forms and venues are being associated with young girls,” she stated.<br /><br />A few of the stereotypes have played out in the media, such as Richland County Sheriff Ben Fields captured on video as he slammed and dragged a young Black female student at Spring Valley High School last October, or Eric Casebolt, former McKinney, Texas Police Department corporal, who knelt on the back of a 14-year-old Black girl dressed in a bikini at a pool party.<br /><br />Prof. González said it’s not just those things, but data proves the point. “We know that across the country, Black girls are three times more likely to be referred to the juvenile justice system than White girls, that schools are more likely to have them arrested,” she said.<br /><br />Once they’re in the system, they are 20 percent more likely to be charged with a crime than White girls, she said.<br /><br />“Girlhood Interrupted” suggested that in light of proven disparities in school discipline, the perception of Black girls as less innocent may contribute to harsher punishment by educators and school resource officers.<br /><br />Furthermore, the view that Black girls need less nurturing, protection, and support and are more independent may translate into fewer leadership and mentorship opportunities in schools, the study continued.<br /><br />“Maybe one of the reasons that we see so much disproportionality is because of adultification and this imposition of differential views and expectations about the development of Black girls compared to their White peers,” Prof. González stated.<br /><br />She feels there is absolutely time for change, and said the study is a call to action, not just a collection of facts and data.<br /><br />“First, it’s recognizing it. It’s naming it. … It’s putting it out into a public space so that as individuals, we can start to address it, but more importantly as collective institutions we can,” Prof González said.<br /><br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 446px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="girlhood-interrupted_07-11-2017.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/girlhood-interrupted_07-11-2017.jpg" height="505" width="446" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" />“Girlhood Interrupted” recommends training teachers, police officers, school resource officers, prosecutors, and other adults in authority in schools on biases and stereotypes.<br /><br /><br />“It’s very common that people don’t realize that they’ve internalized all of these other ideas, and they’re acting on them, and so if you’re bringing them forward and they’re trained on them, that can also make a change,” Prof. González said.<br /><br />As she reflected on the study, Dr. Ava Muhammad, attorney, author, radio personality and Nation of Islam student minister, noted that Blacks are dealing with the law of cause and effect. Ofttimes people are so focused on the effect, they forget about the root cause, she said.<br /><br />Min. Muhammad said America was founded in human trafficking of Black people, and part of the psychological base to create and sustain a race-based society is having to re-define human beings as sub-human, which has been constitutionalized, she said.<br /><br />The country has redefined and re-categorized Black youth and Black children in order to justify mistreating and mishandling them, she said.<br /><br />Black people as a whole have rejected God’s plan for their salvation, given to them by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and have fallen into a trap that lends credence to what the perceptions revealed in the study, she said.<br /><br />According to Min. Muhammad, Blacks girls have become aggressive, and so-called sexualized at an early age, because in the economic desolation of the Black colonies, Black children aren’t allowed to be children.<br /><br />She said part of that’s due to the fall of the Black family and explosion of the single female headed households. As a result, toddlers are exposed to violent video games and real-life violence, she said.<br />“They are basically folded into the adult culture. There’s no such thing anymore as a child when parents are teenagers, and not married, and not able to set up a stable home; when you have a culture that peddles clothing for babies that a two-year-old girl is either dressed like a hooker or a male,” Min. Muhammad said.<br /><blockquote><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>‘Looking back at some recent sessions held by women of the Caucus on Black Women and Girls, one issue revealed the assault on Black girls self-esteem.’</strong></span></blockquote>“You don’t see our little girls in dresses and ribbons in their hair. We’re putting extensions and weaves in the heads of toddlers. We’re not teaching them how to speak. We’re teaching them how to curse. We are teaching them how to shake their behind, and in the absence of stable Black male authority, we’re exposing young girls and young children to male predators,” she continued.<br /><br />She underscored that the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has taught and really chided Black women about their lack of love for their daughters and their selfishness that in many instances leaves them exposed to men they’re dating and allowed in their environment, without regard to the impact on their children.<br /><br />“I don’t want to seem oblivious to the need for corrective measures in the interim, but I just want to stress we’ve really come to that point where we’re standing on the edge of the cliff, and the only practical and real solution to this is to begin in earnest the process of breaking from our slave-masters’ children, because all of this is rooted in our classification in the White man’s society as commodities, as property,” Min. Muhammad stated.<br /><br />She illuminated the fact that Blacks live in an environment that is controlled by a people that view them as property and deprive them of the rudimentary requirements for survival.<br /><br />“We do not live. We exist,” Min. Muhammad said. Step one would be to push harder on compliance with Min. Farrakhan’s directive to make Black neighborhoods safe and decent places to live, she said.<br /><br />“When he says safe and decent, that’s on a multitude of levels. Our first thought might police who come in at will and gun down our children, and then make sure that our children have guns and kill each other, but he said safe and decent,” she reiterated.<br /><br />For instance, she said, the whole problem of the predatory male starts right in the household, but Blacks can correct that almost instantly by Black women engaging in a cease and desist. “Stop letting strange men come into your home, or your house, or your apartment, or your room, or the box you live in … wherever you are, your children are first. Your divine role first and foremost is mother, above everything,” Min. Muhammad said.<br /><br />Another solution is for Black women to cover themselves and return to modesty, Min. Muhammad stated. She said she could understand 15- and 20-year-olds, because their hormones are raging, but not 40-, 50-, 60-year-olds.<br /><br />“What is wrong with you? This is us! This is not White people. This is not even the Black man. This is us, and a nation can rise no higher than its woman,” Min. Muhammad said.<br /><br />“Put some clothes on. Stop cursing. Stop talking and screaming where you sound like you’re in a bullhorn … . We have power! The woman has power to turn this around.”<br /><br />Civil rights attorney Barbara Arnwine of the Transformative Justice Coalition told The Final Call she feels the sentiments documented in the report stem from a substantial neglect of issues affecting Black women and girls in the country.<br /><br />“Even under the Obama administration, his program for Brothers Keeper was all focused on Black boys and men, and unfortunately, many of us said that one of the consequences of this was that it was neglecting the needs and the realities of Black girls, and that Black girls actually had substantial issues that they confront in our society,” Atty. Arnwine said.<br /><br />Advocates warned there needed to be a more balanced approach, because Black girls and boys grow up in the same households and experience the same problems, she said.<br /><br />“Well, we’re not surprised that the images that we have been able to document about Black boys now are being reflected about Black girls. … The only surprise is that we have not fought hard enough politically or in our social policy work or in our public education work to try to confront and dispute and refute these tropes about Black girls and Black women,” she said.<br /><br />“I think this is an unfortunate, logical outcome of this scholarly and political neglect,” Atty. Arnwine stated.<br /><br />She said there are some truths Black women need to address regarding their role in how Black girls are being viewed.<br /><br />Looking back at some recent sessions held by women of the Caucus on Black Women and Girls, one issue revealed the assault on Black girls self-esteem, Atty. Arnwine said. They talked about being portrayed so poorly about their hair, their physiology, their look, their noses, their lips, their eyes, she recalled.<br /><br />“They’re told that they’re not the standard of beauty, and rappers and all kinds of other people reinforce those images, so there’s this problem, period, that goes even beyond perceiving our girls as not innocent, or adult, etc.”<br /><br />Black girls’ communities fall short when it comes to valuing and affirming them and loving them as valuable members of their communities and society, Atty. Arnwine said, and that’s a huge miss.<br /><br />“Parents do it inadvertently. Schools do it all the time. They (Black girls) complain bitterly about their schooling. They complain bitterly about rape and sexual assault, to just everything, so the irony of this report is while people are viewing our girls negatively as not innocent, we are missing the fact that in reality, their innocence is being exploited all the time,” Atty. Arnwine said.<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-56382828899897872932017-06-20T11:57:00.001-07:002017-06-20T11:57:39.392-07:00<h2>Blood &amp; Politics: Incivility, vitriol, violence and American politics</h2><small>By Askia Muhammad, Starla Muhammad and Tariqah Shakir-Muhammad | Last updated: Jun 20, 2017 - 1:36:36 PM</small><br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </h3><a href="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" target="_blank"> What's your opinion on this article?</a><br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="blood-and-politics_06-27-2017a.jpg" height="189" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/blood-and-politics_06-27-2017a.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(L) In this Jan. 8, 2011, file photo, emergency personnel work at the scene where Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., and others were shot outside a Safeway grocery store in Tucson, Ariz. Survivors of the mass shooting at a constituent event hosted by former U.S. Rep. Giffords said Wednesday's attack at a congressional baseball practice brought back painful memories of the day six were killed and 13 were injured in what was supposed to be a time for citizens to engage in the political process. (R)Crime scene investigators search for evidence on an automobile with a damaged driver's window at the scene of a multiple shooting involving a member of Congress during a Congressional baseball practice, June 14, in Alexandria, Va. </span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /><b>WASHINGTON - </b>The blood sport of political rhetoric—which has led to wanton violence visited upon innocent Black people and Muslims around the country since the Trump political campaign—visited Republican members of the U.S. Congress in mid-June.<br /><br />The encounter left the third-ranking House member seriously injured, four others hurt, and the reported shooter dead in Arlington, Va.<br /><br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 236px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="blood-and-politics_06-27-2017b.jpg" height="400" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/blood-and-politics_06-27-2017b.jpg" width="236" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">ATF at crime scene in Alexandria, VA where GOP House leader Steve Scalise is among 4 injured in Virginia shooting while practicing for charity baseball game. Photos: MGN Online</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), who confessed in 2014 that he may have spoken at a 2002 rally organized by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, was critically injured by an angry purported supporter of the Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) 2016 presidential campaign, as Mr. Scalise and others practiced June 14 for a century-old charity baseball game to be held the next day. After four days in intensive care, and several operations, at presstime Mr. Scalise’s condition was upgraded from “critical” to “serious” by officials at the Washington Hospital Center.<br /><br /><br />The incident sent the Capitol into shock. Ironically, the Capitol Police Board and many in the congressional leadership commended two officers assigned to the Whip’s leadership security detail with praise for their “immediate and decisive actions” which prevented more injuries. Both of the officers who were injured when they returned the shooter’s fire, ironically, are Black.<br /><br />“We are profoundly grateful for the heroism of the Capitol Police, whose bravery under fire undoubtedly saved countless lives,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement.&nbsp;“On days like today, there are no Democrats or Republicans, only Americans united in our hopes and prayers for the wounded.”<br /><br />The call to tone down political sniping and rhetoric was espoused on both sides of the aisle soon after the shooting, even by those guilty of utilizing and benefiting from partisan vitriol, namely the current U.S. president.<br /><br /><div align="center"><b>A pattern of vitriol</b></div>Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL.) believes that there were hints of serious division as early as the 2016 presidential campaign. “There were lot of warnings during the campaign; one is that the vices, tactics, approaches were not good for the country,” he told The Final Call.<br /><br />“There is tremendous division in America in terms of the split of those who fuse one thing one way. There is extremism on the right and to some degree extremism on the left. The people on the right are talking about taking back the country,” said the Chicago Democrat.<br /><br />During the contentious presidential campaign, Mr. Trump promised to pay the legal fees of one of his supporters who sucker-punched a Black protestor who was in police custody, Democrats, Black people, and Muslims have been under relentless attack.<br /><br />“We can all agree that we are blessed to be Americans,” said Mr. Trump in remarks delivered from the White House in response to the Arlington shooting. “Our children deserve to grow up in a nation of safety and peace and that we are strongest when we are unified and when we work together for the common good,” he added.<br /><br />“We may have our differences, but we do well, in times like these, to remember that everyone who serves in our nation’s capital is here because, above all, they love our country,” said Mr. Trump. This is a far cry from the man behind the “birther” movement that attempted to discredit and delegitimize his predecessor and first Black U.S. president Barack Obama. And a candidate who famously stated he could stand in the middle of Times Square in New York City, “shoot anybody” and no one would care—and who egged on his audiences on the campaign trail to “lock her up” in reference to Hilary Clinton and verbally eviscerated his primary opponents with belittling and demeaning comments.<br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 250px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="ted-nugent_06-27-2017.jpg" height="200" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/ted-nugent_06-27-2017.jpg" width="250" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Ted Nugent</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Even serial-Obama basher, Ted Nugent who once called the former president a “subhuman mongrel,” “a piece of s--t,” and compared him to a Nazi and who was invited to Mr. Trump’s White House—sang a different tune. On the June 18 airing of Fox &amp; Friends, he pledged to be more “civil” in his political discourse.<br /><br /><br />“I just think in these heightened, exciting times politically, I am reaching out across the aisle, and I’m saying we must all unite to bring no violence, no harm to any of our fellow Americans,” said Mr. Nugent.<br /><br />How long this bipartisan “time out” will last is anyone’s guess. There were already disputes resurfacing between the Democrats and GOP a few days after the congressional baseball game that went on as scheduled. Senate Democrats accused Republicans of not being transparent when it comes to finalizing new healthcare legislation. Democrats planned to object to routine requests to let the chamber operate—whether it’s scheduling votes or allowing committees to meet for extended hearings—in a move aimed at escalating the fight over health care, reported Manu Raju of CNN. Doing so could eviscerate any bipartisan atmosphere that existed after the shooting, he noted.<br /><br />“Unfortunately this anger is a continuous part of a cycle of violence in the United States and represents decades of political waring. This shows the level, climate of political division in the country. Look at what happened with the election of Trump,” said Todd Shaw, assistant professor of Political Science and African Studies at the University of South Carolina.<br /><br />“We see that political anger has boiled over. And we know that the American people want to see things better … . But it has to start from the grassroots efforts, with locals who can raise questions of concerns for the leaders to listen to what’s important to the masses,” he told The Final Call.<br /><br />Violence and anger has not just been reserved for those on the far right. Several conflicts resulting in violence have erupted on the far left as well. Several college campuses have been flashpoints of resistance to far-right speakers. Heated protests forced the cancellation of speakers slated to present at University of California-Davis and other universities.&nbsp;<br /><br />Missouri State Senator Jamilah Nasheed spoke very candidly about the recent shooting and felt what is being seen is to be expected—unless the two parties work together. “Many Americans are angry and we are witnessing the political discourse that has occurred since the election of President Trump, I don’t care which party it is, I don’t condone anyone being shot or killed because of disagreements,” she said.<br /><br />“We are feeling the impact of a partisanship of America. And until the two parties can see the common good of every citizen then can we stop the feuding. The way things are now only the rich and powerful are benefitting the most from our local and national level. Lastly, I have to say, there’s a really dark cloud over this country and something has got to give,” said the state senator.<br /><br /><div align="center"><b>History of violence&nbsp; </b></div>It could be stated that violence in U.S. politics is as American as apple pie and is rooted in the very foundation of the country. It is nothing new.<br /><br />The threat and execution of violence around elections has a long, sad history in American politics, noted Jesse Rhodes, associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Similar to the 2016 presidential election, much of the conflict revolved around issues of race and immigration and “efforts by disadvantaged (and often nonwhite) citizens to secure greater political influence have been met with violent repression by those already enjoying power (usually more affluent Whites) throughout American history,” he noted in his article, “Violence has long been a feature of American elections.”<br /><br />“Violent conflict surrounding elections goes all the way back to the beginning of American history. The Founding Era—often portrayed as a period dominated by outstanding, level-headed statesmen who set the United States on a course toward inevitable greatness—was actually a chaotic period,” he opined. <br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="blood-and-politics_06-27-2017c.jpg" height="348" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/blood-and-politics_06-27-2017c.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /> In 2011, Jared Lee Loughner opened fire in a supermarket parking lot, grievously wounding Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) and killing six people, including a nine-year-old girl. Before that shooting, 2008 GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s political action committee circulated a map of targeted electoral districts that put Ms. Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized cross hairs, according to The New York Times.<br /><br /><br />“The sad thing is that these mass shootings have become the new normal,” Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) told “Democracy Now!” “I mean, the extraordinary thing about what happened to Steve Scalise is that he’s a member of Congress. But, of course, that’s not even the first time that happened. Gabby Giffords was shot as she was doing Congress on Your Corner in her district only a few years ago. So, even members of Congress getting shot somehow has not prompted us to take a look at what we’re doing, and what we’re not doing, when it comes to making the country safer.”<br /><br />Rep. Ellison and other Democrats urge stronger regulations on access to automatic, military-style assault weapons. But one Republican congress member urged further relaxation gun laws in the District of Columbia, even though the Scalise assault occurred in neighboring Virginia.<br /><br />“They brought this on themselves,” a senior staff aide for a member of the Congressional Black Caucus told The Final Call. “And it’s only going to get worse.”<br /><br />Indeed, on the day of the congressional shooting, three people were killed by an angry shooter at a San Francisco UPS facility.<br /><br />“I do think, you know, just the Wild West atmosphere that we have, in terms of regulating firearms, is ridiculous,” Rep. Ellison continued. “And other countries don’t do this. And, of course, as a result, they’re a lot safer, when it comes to this danger.”<br /><br />That Wild West atmosphere has resulted in four of the 45 U.S. Presidents being murdered in office and even more have survived serious assassination attempts. No other modern, industrial country has a record of violence in high office that even comes close.<br /><br />“I above anyone in here,” Rep. Pelosi said on the House Floor the day after the shooting, “and I can say that quite clearly, have been probably the target of more—I’m a political target and therefore the target of more threats than anyone, other than the president of the United States, Barack Obama.”<br /><br /><div align="center"><b>What does the future hold?</b></div>The shooting of Rep. Scalise shows a clear picture of political divisions now and in the future, said many analysts. The question remains whether civil discourse is even possible amid these strident differences.<br /><br />Another concern is that both major political parties do not pay enough attention to the most prominent and important issues such as racism, poverty and human rights. Jared Ball, a professor of media and Africana Studies and at Morgan State University, noted the incivility between parties is based on competition and opposing interests.<br /><br />“What we see now, as ever, are two parties taking turns using one or another incident to fraudulently reposition themselves as legitimate representatives of their claimed constituencies and in uncivil opposition to one another. But it’s phony,” said Prof. Ball.<br /><br />“If we had a political party that actually represented Black, Brown, Indigenous and working people there would be beautiful civility between our party and those in existence now that represent only the truest minority ever; the rich, the White, the male.”<br /><br />Following the Virginia baseball practice attack, violence against Muslims escalated in this country and in the United Kingdom.<br /><br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 250px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="darwin-martinez-torres_06-27-2017.jpg" height="211" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/darwin-martinez-torres_06-27-2017.jpg" width="250" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Darwin Martinez Torres, a suspect in the murder of a 17-year-old Muslim girl</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Also following the shooting, in suburban Virginia, 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen, a Muslim girl on her way home from Ramadan prayers at a Virginia mosque, was abducted, assaulted and murdered June 18, her body dumped in a pond.<br /><br />And a van plowed into worshippers near a London mosque in the early hours of June 19, injuring 10 people, two of them seriously, in what Prime Minister Theresa May said was a sickening, terrorist attack on Muslims.<br /><br />The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, patriarch of the Nation of Islam, wrote about what he called “outlaw action” permitted in America and “precautionary action” should be taken to protect those in high government positions because they do not always have the full support or backing of the people.<br /><br />In his monumental book, “The Fall of America,” Mr. Muhammad spoke of the time period of over 60 years between the assassinations of Presidents William McKinley and John F. Kennedy.<br />“Again, it shows to the world that the government of America and its people are actually given to such outlaw and violent action,” he wrote.<br /><br />“To take human lives at will, disregarding their own legal law against such action, makes the country be classified as a country or government of outlaws—where people have no safety of their lives under the law which claims to safeguard the lives of human beings,” continued Mr. Muhammad.<br />His National Representative, Minister Louis Farrakhan, expressed concern a year before the election regarding the tone and tenor of what was happening in U.S. politics, warning it was “dangerous for the future of politics and for the future of America when we become uncivil in our discourse.”<br /><br />From the rise of the anti-Obama Tea Party to the rise of and election of Donald Trump and the subsequent Resist Trump movement, the battle lines have been drawn. Ugly rhetoric and demonization of opponents have also been a formula for political success—and it may be a formula that is too alluring to resist, despite the sweet talk about softening language. But at what cost to the country?<br /><br /><i>(J.A. Salaam contributed to this report.)</i><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-20250431835567272082017-06-06T11:11:00.001-07:002017-06-06T11:11:35.134-07:00<h2>Foreign and domestic wariness of Trump, Russian ties and America's national security</h2><small>By <a href="http://www.twitter.com/askiaphotojourn">Askia Muhammad</a> -Senior Editor- | Last updated: Jun 6, 2017 - 1:35:17 PM</small><br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </h3><a href="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" target="_blank"> What's your opinion on this article?</a><br /><br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="putin_lavrov_trump_06-13-2017.jpg" height="597" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/putin_lavrov_trump_06-13-2017.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /><b>WASHINGTON—</b>Multiple federal investigations are pondering over ample evidence that officials in the Donald Trump presidential campaign colluded with top level Russian officials to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential race, and that President Trump himself may have committed impeachable crimes to cover it up. In just five months, Mr. Trump has managed to stir up as much impeachment fervor, as it took President Richard Nixon more than five years to generate.<br /><br /><br />For example, five “current and former U.S. officials” told NBC news “they are aware of classified intelligence suggesting there was some sort of private encounter” between Mr. Trump, his son-in-law and unpaid White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and Attorney General Jeff Sessions with Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak and other diplomats at Washington’s Mayflower Hotel in the spring of 2016. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="anti-trump_protest_06-13-2017.jpg" height="298" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/anti-trump_protest_06-13-2017.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Protesters rally near the Intrepid Air and Sea Museum where President Trump was expected to visit May 4, in New York. Photo: AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The officials acknowledged to NBC News that the evidence does not amount to proof of any wrongdoing, and they have declined to provide details of that encounter, which is only the tip of an iceberg of plots, sub-plots, intrigue and espionage swirling in and around the Trump White House and Moscow.<br /><br />An FBI Special Counsel and two Congressional committees are investigating a number of former and current Trump associates who received millions of dollars from Russian, Turkish, and even Ukrainian operators; as well as reports that the President himself sought to stifle the investigations by improperly trying to influence fired FBI Director James Comey; Daniel Coats, the current Director of National Intelligence; and Michel Rogers, the National Security Director.<br /><br />At the center of the storm, and the individual closest to the President is Mr. Kushner, an accused slumlord, who, like his father-in-law, is adept at manipulating the political-economic system to rescue his sometimes shaky, real estate ventures.<br /><br />What troubles investigators is the suggestion that Kushner and Sessions; former National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn—who lasted less than a month in office before being forced to resign for purportedly lying to Vice President Mike Pence about his Russian contacts; former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort; and former campaign aide Carter Page; not only met with Russian officials throughout the 2016 campaign, but then after the election they seemed&nbsp; to seek a secret “back channel” to correspond directly with Russian officials without the knowledge of their own U.S. government. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="anti-trump_protest_06-13-2017b.jpg" height="298" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/anti-trump_protest_06-13-2017b.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Anti-Trump demonstrations in Chicago.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /> The conduct suggests that the Trump campaign had something to conceal from U.S. intelligence officials—whom Mr. Trump criticized during the campaign—but that they undermined the principle that there is “only one president” at a time. The incoming Ronald Reagan administration manipulated the 400-some U.S. hostages held at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, in order to guarantee Mr. Reagan’s electoral defeat of President Jimmy Carter in 1980.<br /><br /><br />Mr. Kushner, who is only 36 years old, took over his family’s real estate empire 11 years ago when his father Charles Kushner was indicted, convicted, and sent to jail by then U.S. Attorney, and now Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, on charges of tax evasion, illegal campaign donations and witness tampering. At the same time, the younger Mr. Kushner purchased <i>The New York Observer </i>newspaper, but he made his mark with his ventures in real estate, often getting bailouts from questionable transactions with public money.<br /><br />As a property manager, his tactics were cruel and heavy handed, according to published reports. “Jared Kushner, the President’s son-in-law, sues his Baltimore tenants for thousands of dollars in bogus debts, on which he also gets judgments allowing him to garnish their wages and drain their bank accounts,” Edward Ericson Jr. reported for the <i>Baltimore City Paper</i>, according to Richard Prince and his online column about the news media called “Journal-Isms.” <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="jared-jushner_06-13-2017.jpg" height="200" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/jared-jushner_06-13-2017.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Benjamin Netanyahu, Jared Kushner and U.S. President Donald Trump are seen during their meeting at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, May 22. Photos: MGN Online</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />“Pro Publica’s Alec MacGillis, who reports in a story for (the) New York Times Magazine that Kushner quietly bought-up thousands of modest and run-down apartment units in Essex and other Baltimore suburbs, whose tenants complain of poor maintenance, harsh rent collection techniques, and relentless pursuit of old and sometimes dubious debts generated after tenants moved out,” Mr. Prince continued. The majority of the affected tenants were Black.<br /><br />“At one point in the story, a private investigator looking into Westminster Management, (Mr. Kushner’s) property management company says, ‘they’re nothing but slumlords.’” Ironically, Mr. MacGillis notes the private investigator is a Trump supporter and had no idea of the connection between Trump’s son-in-law and the firm he was investigating.<br /><br />In another “deal,” Mr. Kushner took advantage of a federal program aimed at helping low-income communities to build a 50-story residential tower in a wealthy neighborhood in New Jersey. That’s according to <i>The Washington Post</i>, which reported that Mr. Kushner and his partners drew a map—similar to a gerrymandered congressional district—that falsely claimed the areas around the tower at 65 Bay Street in Jersey City were blighted. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="trump_lavrov_kislyak_06-13-2017.jpg" height="200" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/trump_lavrov_kislyak_06-13-2017.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(From left to right) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, President Donald J. Trump and Sergey Kislyak, Russia's Ambassador to the U.S., May 10.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />In fact, the map stretched miles into areas of south Jersey City, where poverty and unemployment are high, while avoiding affluent neighborhoods just blocks from the residential tower. The move gave Mr. Kushner’s company access to $50 million in low-cost financing under a program aimed at promoting investment in areas of high unemployment.<br /><br />One of the most troubling of the labyrinthian threads in the Kushner drama is a secret meeting in December 2016 Mr. Kushner held with the chief executive of Vnesheconombank, a Russian state-owned bank that was under sanctions imposed by President Barack Obama.<br /><br /><br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="kissinger_lavrov_kislyak_06-13-2017.jpg" height="200" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/kissinger_lavrov_kislyak_06-13-2017.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State and former National Security Advisor under the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford (left) shaking hands with Sergey Kislyak, Russia's Ambassador to the U.S. (right) with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is in the back, May 11.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>The bank maintained that the session was part of a new business strategy and was conducted with Mr. Kushner in his role as the head of his family’s real estate business. But the White House said the meeting was unrelated to business and was one of many diplomatic encounters the soon-to-be presidential adviser was holding ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration, according to <i>The Washington Post</i>.<br /><br /><br />“I would hope that the investigations of the Russia story focus on following the money, because as I’ve said to <i>The Final Call</i> before, I think that that’s really where the scandal lies, much more so than this question about hacking the elections which is the favorite hobby-horse of the Democrats,” Dr. Gerald Horne, professor of history and African American Studies at the University of Houston said in an interview.<br />“I think it’s more or less rampant greed. I think that many people do not like the United States that they’re seeing right now,” Dr. Horne continued. “It’s like they’re looking in the mirror and they don’t like the image that is staring back at them.<br /><br />“But rather than coming to grips with that ugly reality, they are pointing the finger of accusation across the ocean, rather than come to grips with the fact that you have lots of backwards people in this country, which obviously comes as no surprise to readers of <i>The Final Call</i>, who are quite familiar with the history of slavery and Jim Crow. I would hope once again, that the Democrats in Congress focus on the ties between Mr. Trump and his family and Russian oligarchs, and move away from this story about hacking the election because I think that’s basically drilling a dry hole.”<br /><br />Some progressive observers and even foreign policy experts are reluctant to talk about the Trump-Russia, can of worms. “I can’t think of anything I’d less like to talk about,” a retired U.S. ambassador to a Middle East country who did not want to be identified, told <i>The Final Call</i>. “It is appalling, a shattering tragedy with repercussions we can’t even imagine.”<br /><br />“The scandals surrounding the Trump administration, particularly as it relates to Michael Flynn and Jared Kushner exhibits a culture of impunity and corruption, and it’s troubling for lots of reasons,” another foreign policy expert who did not want to be identified said in an interview. “It doesn’t bode well for our domestic and foreign policy, coming off the heels of the Obama administration where the U.S. already has foreign policy dictated by militarism and war. It seems like the Trump administration is only repeating that, shrouded in a new form of secrecy.<br /><br />“Even if that’s not happening (selling state secrets to Moscow), what we do know about in the public in the Trump administration is already egregious enough that the public should be outraged. His financial conflicts of interest around the world; his very intimate and cozy relationship with (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu in Israel, perpetuating Israeli occupation; and trying to spend more on defense spending.<br /><br />“Obviously there’s lots of concern about the connection between Trump’s people and Russia that we the public have the right to know about, and these investigations should reveal. But on the other hand, I think it’s very dangerous to be moving in this direction of ‘Russia is our enemy,’ creating a new Cold War,” the source said.<br /><br />“So, I think for the Left, we have to define a very fine line, saying no to Trump; saying no to Trump’s private profiteering from the presidency; saying no to Trump’s obstruction of investigations; but recognizing that with all the problems there are in the world—the wars, the violence—we actually do need to be friends with the Russians, and find ways to work together, particularly to resolve the crisis in the Middle East.”<br /><br /><br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="anti-war_protest_06-13-2017.jpg" height="304" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/anti-war_protest_06-13-2017.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Woman holds anti-war sign.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Other progressive analysts agree. “I think there’s no, ‘national security risk,’. I think that what we’re witnessing is a full-scale witch-hunt against anyone who has contact with the Russians or says that they want to have improved relations with Russia—or even normal relations with Russia,” Brian Becker, with the International ANSWER Coalition told <i>The Final Call</i>. “We’re at a dangerous point in U.S. politics.<br /><br /><br />“Moreover, all we have is assertion and no proof. As you know, I am part of the grassroots resistance against Trump and its odious, racist, reactionary, xenophobic, misogynist policies, but that’s far different from what the Democratic Party elites are doing which is not fighting on the things that really matter to people, but instead asserting that Trump is a threat to national security, which is complete and absolute nonsense,” said Mr. Becker.<br /><br />“I’d be more concerned about national security compromised by a system of government that is riddled with corruption, whether it’s Trump or not Trump,” Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink, Women for Peace said in an interview.<br /><br />“We just see Trump coming back from Saudi Arabia with a $110 billion arms deal. That’s compromising our national security,” Ms. Benjamin continued. “Saudi Arabia becoming, under Obama the largest purchaser of U.S. weapons in the world. Saudi Arabia, the country that spreads extremism, I would worry a lot more about that than I would, actually about connections with Russia.”<br /><br />Even as the left-right axis has been turned on its head in this scandal, much suspicion of Russian aims and tactics remains. “The Russians are bad, alright. It doesn’t have anything to do with Communism,” Dr. David Bositis, a statistician and researcher said in an interview. “Vladimir Putin is a ‘klepto-crat.’ They steal money from the government. They kill people who try to defy the regime. He’s bad. Period.<br /><br />“We don’t know what, but it appears that Donald Trump has something to do with him—he owes him something, he’s made money off of him. He is like Vladimir Putin’s best friend, and Vladimir Putin is not a person to have for a best friend.<br /><br />“Look what happened to the Crimea. Look what happened to Ukraine. Those were independent countries that the Russians invaded and that Donald Trump and Kushner are perfectly happy to dump,” Dr. Bositis continued. “Obama spent almost all of his time in office punishing Russia, and Russia felt it.<br />“So (now) you have Obama who was tough with Russia, and Trump, who appears to be Vladimir Putin’s best friend. Here’s the thing: if Russia can do that with Crimea and Ukraine, he can do it—and he’s trying to do it—with the Baltic countries, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia. He’s trying to do it with some of the Eastern European countries. What Putin is trying to do is reassemble the old Soviet Union. It doesn’t have anything to do with ideology.<br /><br />“Republicans used to fanatically anti-Communist. (Now) he is sucking up to Russia, and Russia is not an ally of the United States,” said Dr. Bositis.<br /><br />But this country has its own aggressive military history to account for, according to Mr. Becker. “If we look at the wars that America has fought, they haven’t been defending our territory or our borders or our people,” Mr. Becker said.<br /><br />“We’ve been in Korea. We were in Vietnam. We were in the Dominican Republic. We invaded Grenada. We invaded Panama. We invaded Iraq. We bombed Yugoslavia. We invaded Afghanistan. We invaded Iraq again. We bombed Libya. None of those wars, from my point of view, were about defending the country. They were wars of aggression.”<br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></h3>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-53775229576733997112017-05-30T10:36:00.001-07:002017-05-30T10:36:15.428-07:00New Culture Warriors: Messages in music, song, dance and acting to revive a people<br /><div><small>By Richard B. Muhammad and Tariqah Shakir-Muhammad -Final Call Staffers- | Last updated: May 30, 2017 - 12:55:50 PM</small></div><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" height="16" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </h3><a href="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" target="_blank"> What's your opinion on this article?</a><br /><br /><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017a.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017a.jpg" height="118" width="525" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(L-R) Allah’s Apprentice, Akilah Nehandra,Ques. <i>Photos: Haroon Rajaee</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017b.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017b.jpg" height="374" width="525" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br style="clear: both;" /><b>CHICAGO—</b>Trap music, drill music, gangsta rap and lyrical expressions laced with odes to drugs, crime, violence and even rape have worried much of Black America as the corporate music complex pushed that product like a narcotic rocking people to a slow death.</div><div><br /></div><br />But where there is darkness, even entertainment industry induced and encouraged darkness, there is also light. Black America may be on the cusp of a new day and the emergence of a budding and potentially new Black Arts Movement. As Black consciousness rose in the 1960s and 1970s, the cultural expressions and the musical selections fed the thirst for freedom, justice and equality, Black pride and Black power.<br /><br /><br /><div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017c1.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017c1.jpg" height="485" width="355" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div>Signs in popular music and culture can be seen with the critical success of Chance the Rapper, whose popularity led Ebony magazine to put him on its May cover and ask: “Chance for President?”</div><div><br /></div><br />The Chicago native declined the push for POTUS: “I would never run for any office or government position.”<br /><br />“I’m not into it. I think politics is a reason why a lot of stuff doesn’t get done. There’s a lot of favors, and a lot of people are held back by their intentions of being re-elected or the things that they owe their party or constituents. I think when you’re in my position as an artist, I can say what I want and talk about the issues that matter,” he told Ebony.<br /><br />“Judging by Chance the Rapper’s exponential success, anyone can see that discernment is his best kept secret. Achieve global fame and celebrity success? Check. Win three Grammys as an independent artist with absolutely no help whatsoever from record labels? Double check. Raise $2 million—excuse me, $2.2 million—for Chicago Public Schools after a very disappointing meeting with Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner? Double check. Well … you get the point,” said Ebony.<br /><br />Chance challenged the Illinois governor to put money for music and art into Chicago Public Schools and the two met. After the meeting, Chance was unimpressed and put his own money up to help fund such programs—and there was no glad handing with the unresponsive Republican billionaire who leads the state.<br /><br />Then May 23 Chance scored another hit with city public school students already struck by his donations and open mic nights—he offered a chance for youth to help create a concept for the video to accompany the song “LSD” he made with singer Jamila Woods. In a tweet, Chance made the offer and promised the winner would “shadow the directors and production crew on the set for the day.” Others, he said, could win a chance to shadow the film department on set. The deadline for submissions was set for June 2. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017d.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017d.jpg" height="165" width="525" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Actors in barber shop skit. (R) Crowd enjoys performance at Muhammad University in Chicago. <i>Photos: Haroon Rajaee</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br style="clear: both;" /></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017f.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017f.jpg" height="249" width="525" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Carl Muhammad and dancer. (R) Chicago steppers on stage.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br style="clear: both;" />“The U.S. music and entertainment market, which represents a third of the global industry, and is the largest music and entertainment market worldwide, is expected to reach $771 billion by 2019, up from $632 billion in 2015, according to the 2014-2019 Entertainment &amp; Media Outlook by PriceWaterhouseCoopers,” reported www.selectusa.gov.</div><div><br /></div><br />“The U.S. recorded music industry, including concerts and touring, grew to $15.5 billion in 2016, up from $15 billion in 2015. Thanks to streaming and live music, the U.S. recorded music industry is expected to surpass $18 billion by 2020—$16 billion from streaming services and live music alone. While the U.S. is still the largest global music market and it is essential for a company interested in global operations to establish a presence in the vibrant and highly diverse U.S. music market, competition is strong from European and Asian markets,” the website reported. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017e.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017e.jpg" height="224" width="355" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Deejay Manti (R) Jeronimo <i>Photos: Hassan Muhammad</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br />“The U.S. filmed entertainment industry encompasses movie theaters, TV subscriptions and electronic home video consumption. Box office receipts are projected to grow from $9.9 billion in 2016 to $10.9 billion in 2020. … Home video will reach $20.9 billion, up from $20 billion in 2016 during the same period, and of that, both streaming video and TV video on-demand will jump from $11 billion to over $15 billion by 2020. The United States has a mature subscription TV market and thanks to rising bundle prices and premium service increases, will grow modestly from $101.8 billion to $102.3 billion by 2020,” predicted <a href="http://www.selectusa.gov/">www.selectusa.gov</a>.<br /><br />Professor Ray Winbush of Morgan State University expressed deep concern for the future of younger audiences who are bombarded with negative content. “We can talk about media in terms of Twitter, World Hip-Hop that shows a lot of our people fighting,” he told The Final Call. “Parents need to be very guarded about it. All media the children view should be guarded.” <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 150px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="great-debaters_06-06-2017.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/great-debaters_06-06-2017.jpg" height="218" width="150" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br />&nbsp;Prof. Winbush pointed out the lower ratings educational, positive movies sometimes receive from the Black masses compared to their negative counterparts. “The Great Debaters” in 2007, featuring Denzel Washington made a disappointing $30 million in box office sales, but it was empowering, said Prof. Winbush. The same actor however, played lead in “Training Day,” a 2001 movie about a corrupt Black cop, and it earned over $100 million in sales, said the director of the Institute for Urban Research at Morgan State University. The movie also earned Mr. Washington an Academy Award for Best Actor.<br /><br />Media links over into Black relationships with one another as a result of White supremacy and the demand for positive imagery has to meet Black interest and investment, the longtime educator and activist added. Prof. <br /><br />Winbush is a former member of the National Council for Black Studies. He has written many articles and books about Black history, politics and culture. He has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, BET and CBS discussing racism and African culture. He is currently on the editorial board of the Journal of Black Studies.<br /><br />“We came to educate our people through rap, that’s why we loved Public Enemy, KRS-One Big Daddy Kane; all of those were teachers. But the enemy, when he saw that we were independent, teaching, he signed us to record labels. Once you get signed to the record label, now you have an A&amp;R man, somebody to tell you what kind of rap you’re going to make; so, it was no longer educating our people through rap, it is now gangsta rap,” said Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan during a recent radio interview on the Darryl Cooke Show Live.<br /><br />“I heard that these White folk got together in California with those who were now engaged in the prison industrial complex—and the prisons, now, are on the stock market, because it’s privately-owned and -operated prisons,” he continued.<br /><br />“A man doesn’t go into making a hotel unless you expect some guests in your hotel. Well, this man is not over prisons thinking that he’s not going to have heavy guests. So what they did, they transformed intelligent rap to gangsta rap, to now ‘drill’—so it goes all the way down into funk and filth and death and destruction. As we beef with each other, then the beef turns into guns.”<br /><br />But the Minister did more than discuss the problems—for decades he has engaged and encouraged artists to lend their gifts to the Black struggle. And he gave them a platform in Chicago as a fledgling but potentially important sign and collaborative effort rose May 23 at Muhammad University of Chicago on the grounds of the Nation of Islam’s National Center. <br /><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017g.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017g.jpg" height="199" width="525" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(L-R) September Brooke, Grayco, Limitless Soundz, Phoenix Ali</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br style="clear: both;" /></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017h.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017h.jpg" height="156" width="525" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(L-R) Gat Turner, Kenny Muhammad and Young Khan Da Don, Muhammad2G</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br style="clear: both;" /></div><div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017i.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017i.jpg" height="160" width="525" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Phenom, Tony Mono, Margaret Mahdi greets Min. Farrakhan <i>Photos: Haroon Rajaee</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br style="clear: both;" />Co-directed by Enoch Muhammad of Hip-Hop Detoxx and Margaret Mahdi of Mahdi Theater Company, the evening production brought together spoken word, rap, dance, singing and acting that featured Muslims and non-Muslims. From now on, Tuesday nights will be a social night showcasing talents and music and art, said Min. Farrakhan who introduced the concept and Enoch Muhammad to the audience in the gym at Muhammad University and a livestream audience. There was even a boxing demonstration during the evening, along with a deejay, live music performers, African drummers, videos and a slide show.</div><div><br /></div><br />The result was an inspiring and explosive mix of talent and positive messages and energy.<br /><br />“I thought it was amazing,” said Claire Washington, a college student and journalist. “This was my first time being here at one of the events held at the mosque and it was just amazing to me—it was educational-based, spiritual-based. I think incorporating something that the youth can relate to such as hip hop is a great tool to get everyone to come together.”<br /><br />Min. Farrakhan expressed his thanks and pleasure at the evening and held a special meeting with the performers and organizers the next day. During the meeting, he talked about the importance of culture and the power of the arts to impact and uplift Black people. Your nature is to obey God and needs to be fed, said the Minister. He thanked Enoch Muhammad, his wife, and all who helped make the night a success. He encouraged the roomful of singers, actors, rappers, poets, musicians, directors, dancers and a boxer-sociology professor to keep their collaboration going and to perfect their crafts and divine gifts. But, Min. Farrakhan added, great gifts must be accompanied by the development of great character, consciousness and humility.<br /><br />God’s work is the elevation, liberation and the reconciliation of our people, said Min. Farrakhan, noting that all gifts come from God. There must be the proper attitude to overturn a world of evil and wrong and not succumb to it, he added.<br /><br />“A cultural giant is a warrior on another level,” said Min. Farrakhan. “You can heal a nation with a song, with a movie with a play,” he said. In the early days, Black entertainers dressed up and offered the beauty of their voices or their talents, they didn’t sell sex, the Minister said. But the aim of this world is to sell sex and appeal to the lowest desires of the people, instead of raising them. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017j.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/hiphop-detoxx_06-06-2017j.jpg" height="295" width="355" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Enoch Muhamad and his wife Keisha with Min Farrakhan</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br />“Your master is not shaitan (the devil), he deceived the world. God is pulling you out of the world and making you attractive,” said Min. Farrakhan, in response to a question from a female entertainer. “You don’t have to give up your art, you have to give up the wrong expression of your art,” said Min. Farrakhan.<br /><br />Hip hop artist Gat Turner from Milwaukee was overwhelmed. “I’m so full from what I have witnessed, it’s like a high,” he said. He was struck by the Minister teaching that Chinese artists bought into the vision of Chinese revolutionary Mao Tse Tung for the rise of their country. As those who have accepted the teachings of the Hon. Elijah Muhamad we have to use our gifts to raise the nation, said Gat, who is also known as Sean Muhammad.<br /><br />It was important that the collaboration was open to all—even if they were not “technically” members of the Nation of Islam, he said. “Their contributions are valuable,” said the hip host artist.<br /><br />Young Khan Da Don saw the performances at Muhammad University as the harbinger of a new culture for Black people. The artists as cultural revolutionaries have more power than 100 sermons, as the Minister has said, said the hip hop artist. That places the cultural community at the center for change, he added.<br /><br />“Art and music combined with the right intentions can be used as a platform to educate and heal instead of degrade and discourage Black people. The pain and suffering that White supremacy is accountable for can be relieved with the right message at the right time,” said Margaret Mahdi, creator of a Chicago-based theater company. “It is a powerful platform that can be used to educate and change lives if you use it properly. There’s a therapy to it as well and as we heal, we are helping others heal.”<br /><br />Degrading and discouraging images of Black people in the entertainment industry demand that Blacks create their own system, Ms. Mahdi continued. “A film, art and music industry of our own is a responsibility we have to take on because no one else will do it for us,” said the young woman who has produced plays highlighting the music, culture, history and power of the Black community in major venues in Chicago. “It is a responsibility,” she stressed. “It’s mandated—there is no doing it to be seen, doing it for fun. It’s to inspire, transform, uplift and to make a difference.”<br /><br />Enoch Muhammad saw Tuesday evening as a way to bring change in the community, in organizations and in homes. The diversity of artists and art forms allowed people to express their gifts and art forms. Beat, word, dance, wisdom mathematics allow for creation of a masterpiece, he said.<br /><br />“We have to be willing to be different, I think that’s the biggest part for people,” said Enoch Muhammad, whose group uses hip hop, music, and art to enlighten and educate youth about the pitfalls of life and negative lifestyles promoted and prominent in mainstream music. “If you don’t fit the format of this world you’re not considered viable because they can’t package and sell you because you (don’t) fit in the sex drugs, murder, violence packaging. And if you don’t fit, they don’t want nothing to do with you.”<br /><br />But that packaging and product releases poison to listeners and society, he said. “That world is killing you,” observed Enoch Muhammad.<br /><br /><b><i>Performers and Staff May 23 at Muhammad University of Islam</i></b><br /><i>Hip hop artists AK-47, Lil’ Prophet, Young Khan Da Don, DA Smart,&nbsp;Phenom; singers Grayco, Akilah Nehanda, Phoenix&nbsp;Ali, Arian Nicole and September Brooke; dancers Carl Muhammad, Donnie Muhammad, Carrey Muhammad and Stick and Move; spoken word Tony Mono, Ques, Gat Turner; actors Earl Muhammad,&nbsp;Arthur&nbsp;Muhammad, Michael Muhammad and Robert Muhammad. Music played by deejay Manti, Vinson Muhammad, Kenny “The Human Orchestra” Muhammad, Muhammad 2G, a platinum producer and Marline Massanoit, spoken word artist.</i><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-15640211486313881382017-05-23T12:25:00.000-07:002017-05-23T12:25:06.657-07:00From The Final Call Newspaper<h2>Big Ballin: Big ideas fuel a father’s Big Baller Brand and brash business sense</h2><small>By <a href="http://www.twitter.com/MrCraw4D">Bryan Crawford</a> -Contributing Writer- | Last updated: May 23, 2017 - 12:45:37 PM</small><br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </h3><a href="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" target="_blank"> What's your opinion on this article?</a><br /><br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="ballin_05-30-2017a.jpg" height="411" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/ballin_05-30-2017a.jpg" width="525" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" /> LaVar Ball, with his brashness and seemingly unfiltered remarks, has gotten people’s attention inside and outside the sports world.<br /><br /><br />With his son Lonzo spending one year at UCLA and now preparing for the upcoming NBA Draft, the elder Ball has gotten attention usually reserved for a player like his talented son.<br /><br />It’s hard to recall a parent who’s taken over the spotlight from their soon-to-be professional athlete progeny in this manner, but that’s part of what makes LaVar Ball such an interesting anomaly.<br /><br />Another reality is the elder Ball is defying the sports industrial complex by focusing on the business aspects of his son’s life—that included the decision for Lonzo to play at UCLA and the declaration that his son needed to play for the Los Angeles Lakers.<br /><br />The basketball gods may have blessed the outspoken father whose son appears likely to be the second player chosen in the June 22 National Basketball Association draft and headed to the Los Angeles Lakers. The once-storied franchise has been an also-ran in recent years, missing the success and championships brought by former Hall of Fame players like Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Jerry West.<br /><br />A rebirth of pro basketball in the city of bright lights would boost NBA ratings in a major market and if Lonzo resurrects the franchise there is a ton of money to be made through TV deals, endorsements, products and other avenues.<br /><br />LaVar Ball knows all of that and keeping his son close to home, as the family domicile is in Chino Hills, Calif., may also help Lonzo handle major fortune and fame.<br /><br />The dad, who has two other highly talented sons, called for a billion dollar sneaker deal to lock up his trio of Big Ballers. He defied the “norm” of aligning athletes with a major sneaker and apparel brand. The family has its “Big Baller Brand” line which includes t-shirts, caps, hoodies and a signature shoe for Lonzo.<br /><br />In meetings with companies such as Nike, Under Armour and Adidas, LaVar Ball expressed a desire to enter into a $1 billion co-branding deal instead of the typical athlete endorsement deal, even taking his son’s ZO2 signature shoe that he’d created and had manufactured himself, with him to these sit downs—an unprecedented move.<br /><br />All three companies refused to work with him.<br /><br />George Raveling, a Black man who is Nike’s Global Basketball Sports Marketing director, called LaVar Ball “the worst thing to happen to basketball in the last hundred years.” He was blasted by some on social media. @Y2Dre tweeted: “When you’re Black, and talk about OWNERSHIP instead of sponsorship white people start getting nervous... .” Others pointed out that NBA problems with point shaving and refs betting on games as worse than the father of basketball prodigies. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 355px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="ballin_05-30-2017b.jpg" height="286" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/ballin_05-30-2017b.jpg" width="355" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">In this March 4, file photo, UCLA guard Lonzo Ball, right, shakes hands with his father LaVar following an NCAA college basketball game against Washington State in Los Angeles. UCLA won 77-68. LaVar Ball told Southern California News Group for a story published online on April 6, that UCLA was eliminated in the NCAA tournament because “three White guys”, who were slow couldn’t pick up the slack after his son suffered a hamstring injury. Photo: AP/Wide World photos</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />LaVar Ball started his own sports agency, Ball Sports Group, which he heads and will only represent his three sons. He also has Big Baller Media, which the family uses as a vehicle to tell their brand story.<br /><br />What the Ball family has done, particularly with the recent announcement of the $495 ZO2 shoe, is create a disturbance at the point where sports and business intersect.<br /><br />While former NBA superstar Stephon Marbury started his own independent sneaker and apparel company, what LaVar Ball is doing and the way he’s going about it, is something that has never been done before. It could potentially be a game changer if Big Baller Brand is able to reach the dollar valuation that Mr. Ball envisions and desires.<br /><br />“They’re not ready for that because they’re not used to that model,” LaVar Ball said. “But hey, the taxi industry wasn’t ready for Uber, either … . Just imagine how rich Tiger [Woods], Kobe [Bryant], Serena [Williams], [Michael] Jordan and LeBron [James] would have been if they dared to do their own thing. No one owned their own brand before they turned pro. We do and I have three sons, so it’s that much more valuable.”<br /><br />“Professional sports is the last true bastion of White supremacy,” Craig Hodges, a member of the Chicago Bulls first two NBA Championship teams, told The Final Call. “This means being able to own a venue and being able to own a player. I think one of the great things the Balls have done is in somewhat breaking the yoke of White supremacy. Lonzo Ball is showing a young player a way they can go and do their own thing—go direct to China and get your stuff made. And if another player has the potential to do that, then it’s great.<br /><br />“But this also gives them the potential to stand up and be independent and understand why they have that position, and not because it’s just a phase or a fad that they’re going through. So, if [LaVar Ball] truly does understand what consciousness is and how to work on economic development and the like, then I applaud him.”<br /><br />“I get it. He’s going to launch his kids brand, but shoes are challenging,” said Daymond John, founder of the urban apparel brand FUBU. “There’s a bunch of different sizes and they’re built like cars. So, if you’re buying a shoe for $500 and you’re having a minimum of 1,000 pairs coming from overseas, these things better be well made. Now, if he doesn’t sell any of them, he doesn’t have to tell anybody. But if he sells out of all of them, that’s a proof of concept to Nike, Adidas and all those people. … It can go either way, but I’m not mad at the initiative that he’s taking.<br /><br />“He definitely has to do this for six months to a year, take in pre-orders, build the best shoe he can. Put out 100, 200 or 300 [pairs], then after that, he can go to the Nike’s and whoever of the world and say, ‘this is how old my customer is, this is how many units I’ve sold, this how much they’re willing to pay, this how much they’re not willing to pay, these are the colors that work,’ do all the research for them. It’s a good gamble, but he has to be careful to not overextend himself.”<br /><br />Whether you agree with him or not, dislike him or love him, Papa Ball&nbsp; certainly has gotten people talking and captured people’s attention.<br /><br />Most in the world of basketball know Lonzo Ball as a highly-rated high school basketball recruit and McDonald’s All-American. There are certainly those who were familiar with his younger brothers, LiAngelo and LaMelo, who both have full scholarship offers to play college basketball at UCLA. However, their father made “Ball” a household name.<br /><br />There are those who love to see a proud Black man not only try and start a legacy for his sons and their family, but also the way he fully supports his children.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 361px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="ballin_05-30-2017c.jpg" height="409" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/ballin_05-30-2017c.jpg" width="361" /> <div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Big Baller Brand Shoes ZO2 Prime</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />There are also those waiting for that “got’cha” moment where LaVar Ball says something he can’t come back from.<br /><br />“I think that he is a marketing genius,” said Paul Pierce, who just retired from the NBA after 19 seasons. “I mean, he has created such a buzz for his son. I don’t even know what type of person Lonzo is. So, his dad is creating his brand with his personality and he is creating so much energy around it.”<br /><br />“My colleagues and I believe that what he’s doing is fantastic. It’s rare,” Tiffany Boyd-Muhammad, a Los Angeles-based sports and entertainment attorney told The Final Call. “Most folks can’t do this because LaVar Ball, he has actual leverage. He has three sons and they really could be worth $1 billion, with or without the help of a corporation. And this has buckled people to their knees, otherwise, they would just laugh at him. That’s why I think the strategy of pricing the shoes at $495 is real because he has leverage.”<br /><br />LaVar Ball has also made controversial comments aimed at beloved basketball players such as Michael Jordan, Steph Curry, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, angered many and caused some to outright shun Mr. Ball. Some say he talks too much and too loud, but his sharpest words have been for those he feels attack his family or his sons.<br /><br />“I think his business acumen is good, but this personal stuff is kind of sloppy,” Dr. Ray Winbush, director of the Institute for Urban Research at Morgan State University, told The Final Call. “I think he has to temper some of his remarks and be aware that he lives in a glass house himself. I think with some of these remarks that he’s making about people personally is going to cause him to undergo some scrutiny.”<br /><br />There also seems to be some pushback against LaVar Ball’s representation of a strong, outspoken Black man and father. His wife is Caucasian and the two met and played basketball in college.<br /><br />“White people don’t like that he’s an assertive Black man,” added Dr. Winbush. “But if LaVar Ball is willing to pay the consequences for what he’s doing, then I’m OK with that. I think Black people should be sacrificial in the advancement of our people. But if he’s going to talk about Black unity in his messaging, don’t go disrespecting other Black people, like LeBron and Kyrie, especially that comment he made about Kyrie’s mother who died when he was four-years-old. If we’re going to be Black Africans with Black unity, then we need to practice that at all levels.”<br /><br />LaVar Ball also made headlines when he appeared on the Colin Cowherd sports show and told co-host Kristine Leahy “stay in your lane,” during an interview. Ms. Leahy, a White woman, insinuated on a previous show that Lonzo Ball was afraid of his father and had been “forced” to play basketball since he was six-years-old.<br /><br />Mr. Ball took exception to those comments and made that clear on the show. Ms. Leahy accused him of not respecting women and, later in the interview, of threatening her.<br /><br />Charlamagne Tha God of the popular Breakfast Club Morning Show compared what Ms. Leahy said to the comments that led to Emmett Till being murdered in Mississippi in 1955.<br /><br />LaVar Ball has also been accused by a White assistant football coach at Ohio State University of stealing a logo that he had created and using it for the ZO2 sneaker logo. Mr. Ball was accused recently by two Argentinian brothers who started a lifestyle company called “Baller Brand” of stealing their concept by just adding the word “Big” to it. While neither of these incidents has put the Ball family in any legal danger, it could show how threatening LaVar Ball is to an industry that isn’t used to big ripples and waves being made by someone viewed as an outsider.<br /><br />Still, despite all of the negatives, LaVar Ball is having a major impact on awakening consciousness on the importance of ownership and doing for self. If Lonzo Ball and Big Baller Brand are successful, others will likely try and duplicate and possibly even outdo any success LaVar Ball leads his family into.<br /><br />“He can get to a point where that now that he’s started his company, he can bring people in under his brand name,” said Mr. Hodges. “Maybe he can build his brand to become like Brand Jordan, but be a standalone and be able to compete with Nike and Adidas. But every young man or woman has to go out and try and start their own brand, but if his succeeds, then I think that’s a very good and inspiring thing.”<br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></h3>Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534215742767013576.post-85541907858478835242017-05-12T13:41:00.003-07:002017-05-12T13:42:27.907-07:00From The Final Call Newspaper<span style="font-size: large;">Omarosa, the ADL and Farrakhan</span><br /><small>By Final Call News | Last updated: May 9, 2017 - 2:00:23 PM</small><br /><h3><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=all4734"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" height="16" style="border: 0;" width="125" /></a> <!-- AddThis Button END --> </h3><a href="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/contactus/contactus.shtml" target="_blank"> What's your opinion on this article?</a><br /><br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" style="width: 525px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="omarosa-adl_05-16-2017.jpg" src="http://www.finalcall.com/artman/uploads/5/omarosa-adl_05-16-2017.jpg" height="274" width="525" /> <br /><div class="image_caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Omarosa Manigault</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="clear: both;" />Omarosa Manigualt was going about her business during a call in to WVON-AM 1690, Chicago’s Black Talk radio station. She was interviewed by morning show hosts Maze Jackson and Charles Thomas about her role in the Trump administration as the point person for outreach to Black America.<br /><br />In the conversation, Omarosa shared her priority issues—education, economics, crime reduction and increased job opportunities—for the administration. But, she stressed, Black leaders must come to the table and dialogue with the president and advocate for what they want. Traditional civil rights <br />leaders, she said, have been unwilling to sit-down and talk but offer criticism from afar. Outside of representatives of the Congressional Black Caucus, few Black leaders have called or requested a meeting with me or the president, said the Howard University graduate. It’s not a good strategy to be absent from the table for four years, she said.<br /><br />“By the way, there is a Chicago-based leader, Minister Louis Farrakhan, who would meet with the president, I’m seeing this on our Facebook. People, they’re saying, that Louis Farrakhan would meet with you or the president. Would you guys be willing to meet with the Honorable Louis Farrakhan?” asked co-host Thomas.<br /><br />“I think that any in your audience would know that I have never shied away from having an open and, I believe, a good relationship with Louis Farrakhan and so I would look forward to receiving that invitation and sitting down with him,” Omarosa responded.<br /><br />“That is a revolutionary statement, my sister,” said Mr. Thomas.<br /><br />“My history reflects that I have marched, walked, advocated and fought, even before I got into this office, for the rights of those who don’t have a voice and for those who can’t fight for themselves. I have a spiritual obligation to fight for those who Christ described as the least of these,” said the Trump White House representative, who is also an ordained minister.<br /><br />About that time the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) went ballistic. Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO, declared with all the outrage of an old-time slave master, “Louis Farrakhan should not be made to feel welcome by anyone in the White House. Such an overture would only serve to legitimize his long record of conspiratorial and hateful views toward Jews. We hope that the administration will make it clear that Farrakhan and his anti-Semitic organization will find no supporters in the White House.”<br /><br />But the discussion wasn’t about Farrakhan supporters in the White House, it was about Black issues and what is best for a suffering community plagued by too much death and dysfunction. So if the topic is Black issues, Black people and the White House, where does the ADL fit in? Nowhere. <br />Except the paternalistic, Zionist group continues to act as though today’s Blacks are the same as our ancestors bought and sold by Jewish slavers during the darkest times of our history. We don’t belong to you anymore.<br /><br />Once again the ADL seeks to use its lies and its power to cow any who would dare mention the name Louis Farrakhan in the light of day. Anyone who would dare, especially a so-called American Negro, to acknowledge the Minister’s service, his leadership and his wisdom must be condemned and disavowed.<br /><br />Why? It is because Min. Farrakhan represents the end of the old Black-Jewish relationship and the control wicked ones have exerted over our community for their interests, and not our best interests.<br />From the slave trade and the era of King Cotton, to northern ghettos where Jewish shopkeepers, pawn shop owners and landlords exploited Black people, to assaults on any independent Black leader, to promoting a social activism that would never lead to economic power, to taking advantage of Black athletes and entertainers who died broke, to backing the death of affirmative action and hounding Rev. Jesse Jackson during his early and historic run for the presidency, these sly and wicked enemies have been consistent.<br /><br />Their number one target for the past 30 years has been Minister Farrakhan and his strident efforts to free Black people from Zionist control. Neither he, nor his followers, have hurt or harmed one Jewish person, defaced one synagogue nor deprived any Jewish person of a single right that they enjoy.<br />The hate has come from those of Mr. Greenblatt’s ilk, who fear a Black man with the God-given power to define and direct his people along the path of self-reliance and independence.<br /><br />These enemies care nothing for Black interests, nor Black suffering. When Min. Farrakhan, at 80-years-old, led the Fruit of Islam, men of the Nation of Islam into the streets of Chicago in 2012 to help curb violence and increase the peace, Jewish leaders were upset. They demanded that the mayor and all well-meaning and responsible Negroes denounce a man walking streets to undo havoc and murder he was not responsible for.<br /><br />Did Black Lives Matter to these Zionists? Emphatically not.<br /><br />In 1988, these same anti-Black forces opposed the lifesaving efforts of the “Dopebusters,” a name given to the Fruit of Islam who brought peace to a notorious D.C. open air drug market. That peace ushered in conditions that lead to a multi-million dollar re-investment in the community. The ADL fought this great work.<br /><br />By 1995, as security companies that were privately-owned by individual Muslims were going into public housing projects across the country bringing light, life, power and safety, the firms were called before Congress. Jewish groups, in particular the ADL and American Jewish Congress, demanded that federal contracts be stripped from the companies—despite no proof of wrongdoing. After five hours of testimony on Capitol Hill before the&nbsp; House Banking and Financial Services Subcommittee on General Oversight and Investigations, the firms weren’t found to have done anything wrong. But security company spokespersons boldly and effectively refuted the old lies of hatred spouted by the Jewish groups. Henry Cisneros, then secretary of Housing and Urban Development, declared any further investigation would be an unwarranted witch hunt. In the end, the Jewish influence and lobbying led to HUD canceling contracts with local public housing authorities that retained the security companies. The local housing agencies could not survive without the money and reluctantly released the Muslim companies. Death, drugs and destruction quickly followed.<br /><br />A friend would never do such a thing.<br /><br />So if Omarosa is wise enough and honest enough to show respect for Min. Farrakhan and his work, she is doing this country and the White House a favor. America needs divine guidance and Black America needs someone imbued by God’s grace with Supreme Wisdom, fearlessness, a sense of justice and deep love—Min. Farrakhan is that man. Who would be better to represent Black interests in dealing with Mr. Trump or anyone else than a man with a 60-year track record of pursuing Black progress, Black unity and Black upliftment?<br /><br />What was revolutionary was Omarosa’s willingness to admit in public what respectable Negroes utter in private: Farrakhan is a voice that needs to be heard, if you truly want to solve problems for America and Black people in America.<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Wisdom House Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12805439406753743723noreply@blogger.com0